Investigative News: Exploring an Outlet's Coverage

The following was written for an assignment for a class called "Investigative Journalism" in Winter 2021-2022.

Please note there were certain formats and content criteria for this assignment.

In this particular assignment, I had to investigate the coverage of a particular event through one outlet and report a summary of the event as well as how that outlet covered said event.

Philadelphia Inquirer Covers the Story of Walter Wallace Jr.

Walter Wallace Jr. was a 27-year-old man shot multiple times and killed by two police officers in the neighborhood of Cobbs Creek in Philadelphia on October 20, 2020.

His death sparked protests and riots throughout the city and the police department faced heavy criticism from social media for their use of excessive force and their lack of sensitivity for people in mental health crises.

The two officers, Thomas Munz and Sean Matarazzo were responding to a 911 call alleging a man assaulting an older woman. At the scene, they met Wallace who was holding a knife, as seen in this video of the shooting that circulated on Twitter.

Both officers immediately drew their guns and told Wallace to put down the knife multiple times. In the video clip, a woman– Wallace’s mother– is heard yelling not to shoot moments before multiple shots are fired and Walter Wallace is seen motionless on the ground.

Wallace’s friends and family have spoken out about his mental health issues, including bipolar disorder. He was described as a “family man” by a neighbor who spoke with the Philadelphia Inquirer. Wallace was reportedly taking lithium and in the middle of a mental health crisis when the officers arrived on the scene.

Mensah M. Dean, a journalist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, has written multiple pieces on the story of Walter Wallace Jr. “We really did dive in and we did some deep reporting on not just the fact of what happened but also about his life,” Dean said in a phone interview.

Dean believes his coverage with The Inquirer was as well-rounded and in-depth as possible, despite the fact they were promised a sit-down with Wallace’s family by their lawyers

but it didn’t work out. “We really wanted to know more about his mental health situation– what he had been diagnosed with and what are the effects of those conditions,” he said.

On October 28, 2021, he released an article about the family’s monetary win in their lawsuit against the city of Philadelphia. In the months leading up to the ruling, Dean wrote various articles on Wallace and his family, rallying support within the community.

“I think that our coverage was so thorough and so encompassing that the city ultimately paid Walter Wallace’s family 2.5 million dollars and I wrote that story before the holidays.... I think that settlement was a result of our reporting,” Dean said.

Dean considers this an accomplishment under his belt. “Cops kill people around 15 times a year and I’ve never heard of any city paying anybody money in any of these cases so this was quite different.”