Quote:
Originally Posted by Vagos
But that's just for purposes of PR and because he's somewhat of a big star, right?
How long did it take before Ray Lewis was called a suspect when that story broke? I don't really remember.
Actually you'll see the "not a suspect" language regularly in normal criminal investigations as well. It may be because he's "famous" or whatever but it's probably standard operating procedure until such point that an arrest is imminent.
Also, you asked if it's for PR purposes. In a sense yes, but for the police PR, not his. If you say "not a suspect" and then he becomes one, you weren't wrong. If you say "is a suspect" and he's innocent, you were wrong. In short, you can't look bad when you say he's "not a suspect," no matter what ends up happening. Also, there's no upside in an investigation to announcing to a suspect that he's the suspect in a murder. Then he calls a lawyer, nothing gets done easily, etc.