Sgt. John Urquhart, who is quitting after 11 years as spokesman for Seattle’s King County Sheriff’s Office, is a self-described news junkie who sees the media as an integral part of a democratic society, says the Seattle Times. He says the news media “are the watchdog on government and we put bad guys in jail. We need both in this country.” Urquhart handled media relations during the infamous Green River killer serial case.
Urquhart, 63, is so trusted by his colleagues that he’s allowed to attend briefings at murder scenes and send out news releases without getting them approved first. “I want 100 percent of the information so I can give [the media] an accurate 10 percent. I want to give you enough information to tell the public what happened without compromising our investigation,” he says. “No matter how much I believe in the public’s right to know, the investigation has to come first.”