We all know what "vigilante justice" means. When citizens take the law into their own hands.
Well, it looks like there is such a thing as "vigilante journalism" down in San Antonio.
Last week, a man named Antronie Scott was shot and killed by a San Antonio police officer.
Scott had outstanding felony warrants and was being followed as he drove his car by two undercover officers.
After Scott exited his vehicle, one officer told him to put up his hands. Scott allegedly turned around quickly with a cell phone in his hand.
The officer apparently mistook the phone for a gun and fired one shot, striking Scott in the chest. It was a fatal shot.
San Antonio Police Department is investigating the case. That's the way it should be. But apparently a newspaper publisher doesn't agree.
Stephanie Zarriello of the weekly San Antonio Observer told the local FOX News affiliate that Scott had been "unjustly murdered." And she plans to put the department on the hot seat by publishing the names and addresses of every San Antonio officer.
That's irresponsible. Zarriello has a right to be angry. She has a right to weigh in on the shooting. She has a right to criticize the department's handling of it.
But to incite the public and put the officers and their families at risk is beyond the pale. We won't judge what happened to Scott. That's for the authorities and, if it comes to that, a judge and jury to handle.
But we will say that most police officers try to do the best job they can. To threaten their safety, their children's safety, in rancor and haste is unacceptable.
We hope Zarriello rethinks this decision-before she knows what it feels like to have blood on her hands.