Tasers

It's definitely hard to get police to commit to an interview about anything controversial, even if it's just for a class exercise and not for publication.  The "gatekeepers" at the police departments I called were all pretty discouraging, although once I got through to officers they were infallibly helpful and polite.  I think your average police officer has a much better ability to keep the lines of communication open with the public than the higher-ups in a department.

For privacy reasons, I'd rather not put his name up here, but the officer I spoke to at the MSU Police deserves special consideration.  He took at least 45 minutes out of his evening to do a phone interview, and he was extremely open and forthcoming during that time.  A true public servant and a credit to police officers everywhere.

While pursuing a source with the State Police, which ultimately didn't pan out, I definitely saw the effect that the budget cuts have had.  It seems like receptionists were the first to go, as most of my calls, even to the "front desk" or other general contact number all went straight to voicemail.  I'm not judging the state troopers at all; I'd much rather they made it harder to get in touch with their media person than have to curtail, say, 911!  It's just becoming more and more apparent that this state is really starting to hurt as its economy remains in the tank.