BROOKINGS – Brookings Police Chief Dave Erickson has released the following statement regarding the school threat story that first appeared in The Brookings Register Wednesday and the joint clarification that followed:
"With regard to the recent article and the associated joint clarification presented to The Brookings Register, I would like to offer some follow up comments. I first want to make it clear that the school district is not responsible in this incident and acted appropriately based on the facts of the case.
"In my interview with the Register earlier this week, I made statements about the case that I later found to be inaccurate. At the time, I was providing responses based on the knowledge I had of the incident and did not take the time to research and verify the information prior to disseminating it to the media.
"I want to reassure the citizens of Brookings that the Brookings School District and the Brookings Police Department have a very strong relationship and are focused on keeping our children and staff safe in the schools. My error in judgement has caused the School District to come under fire but I want to reiterate that it is unwarranted and that the responsibility for the miscommunication lies solely with me.
"I want to apologize to the citizens of Brookings, the employees of the Brookings School District and the employees of the Brookings Police Department and commit to you all that I will be taking steps to ensure this sort of error does not happen again.
"Thank you."
