A journalist is asking me for comment

Do not answer the question yet.

Acknowledge receipt only. "I got your message, I will get back to you" buys hours and costs nothing. Anything past that is on the record unless you negotiated otherwise in advance.

Save the original contact intact.

Screenshot the email, text, voicemail, or DM. Full headers if email. Name, outlet, deadline, the actual question they asked. Do not reply from your work account until step three is done.

Verify the reporter is real.

Look up the outlet's main number on the outlet's own website — not the number in the signature. Call the desk and confirm the reporter works there and is on this story. Impersonation pretexts are common.

Route through PIO.

If you are sworn, your contract or department policy almost certainly requires it. Forward the original message to your PIO and your direct supervisor. Let them own the response timeline.

Decide capacity before you say anything.

Work capacity (commenting on a case, an arrest, a department matter) routes through PIO. Personal capacity (your own opinion as a private citizen) is a different lane and may still violate department social-media or off-duty conduct policies. Know which lane before you open your mouth.

Loop in your union rep if the story is adverse.

Anything involving a complaint, a use-of-force review, or potential discipline — the rep gets the call before you do anything else. Most CBAs give you a right to representation in any communication that could be used against you.

Have PIO pre-scope the interaction.

Even if you decline to comment, PIO can negotiate ground rules — what is on the record, what is on background, what is off the record, and what the deadline really is. Reporters respect a structured ask.

Write down what you would say if asked.

Three sentences max. Run it past PIO and your supervisor. If the reporter calls back live, you read what is approved. You do not improvise on the phone.

Lock down social media for the week.

Set personal accounts to private. Reporters and the public will go looking. Old posts get pulled out of context and rebroadcast. Do not delete — that reads as guilt — just close the door for now.

Decline cleanly if that is the call.

"I am not able to comment on this matter, please direct your questions to the PIO at [number]" is a complete sentence. No apology, no explanation, no off-the-record sidebar after. Off the record with a reporter you do not know is on the record.

If you are giving a statement, do it in writing.

Email or a written quote routed through PIO. No tone, no inflection, no being misquoted. Verbal is for reporters you have a track record with — and only when PIO signs off.

Get the publication date and the angle.

PIO can ask. Knowing when the story drops lets you prepare the household for the 48-72 hours after, when the broker pickup happens.

Watch the comments and the follow-ups.

Named officers in coverage land on broker pages within hours. The first sign of trouble is a wave of unfamiliar callers, weird mail, or social-media DMs from accounts that just researched you. Document everything.

Pre-empt the doxxing if the story is high-heat.

If the angle is adverse and the outlet is national, assume an activist or harassment account will scrape brokers within 24 hours of publication. Get the household behind a privacy wall before the story goes live, not after.

Loop in the threat-assessment liaison.

Most departments have one for exactly this. A pre-publication heads-up gets you on the watch list and gets dispatch a flag on your address before the spike.

Continuous broker cleanup on the household.

Run a free scan at the free scan. Coverage is not a one-time job — most brokers re-list within 3-6 months and within hours of any news mention. We re-check every two weeks across 200+ broker sites and re-file the same day you reappear.

Know your department's media policy cold.

Read the actual policy, not what you heard from a guy at roll call. PIO routing, social-media conduct, off-duty statements. The next reporter call, you already know the rules.

Pre-build the no-comment line.

Have the exact words written down somewhere on your phone. The five seconds it takes to read the line is the difference between a clean decline and a quote you regret.