Dominique White was shot and killed by Topeka police officers two and a half months ago. Since then, we’ve witnessed a cascade of evasions and inconsistency from law enforcement and city officials. Instead of addressing the public’s concerns about the shooting immediately and directly, our leaders have hidden behind a wall of legalese and equivocation.

The city denied The Topeka Capital-Journal’s open records requests for access to the body camera footage, the identities of the officers involved and other materials. Moreover, the White family’s attorney says the city initially agreed to let Dominique’s parents view the body camera footage, but later decided against doing so (Kansas law only requires city officials to show the footage to the court-appointed executor of White’s estate).

Two weeks ago, we joined the Kansas Press Association, Kansas Association of Broadcasters and Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government in calling upon the city to release the footage of White’s death. We stand by that position. While the city says the footage could "prejudice and potentially taint a jury pool" if it’s released "outside of a trial setting," the same argument could be made about news coverage or the release of other pertinent facts. Moreover, the reluctance to release the video could have its own corrupting effect on potential jurors by suggesting that the city is trying to hide something.

Plenty of officers have been acquitted by juries after footage of their actions was released to the public, and our judicial system can’t ensure that jurors live in some kind of cultural and political vacuum that completely rids them of preconceptions about a case. The city needs to demonstrate that the cost of releasing the footage outweighs the overriding public interest in accountability and transparency, and we still see no evidence that it has done so.

The city has also failed to facilitate appropriate public dialogue on the issues surrounding the White shooting, which is why a group of citizens will be holding a forum on Dec. 20.

On Monday, the group requested a special council meeting to "stand before our elected leadership and give testimony on the problems that existed in our community prior to September 28, 2017" (the day White was killed).

Instead of scheduling such a meeting, the city released a statement that reiterated its reasons for withholding information about the case. The statement also acknowledged that "public dialogue is essential," but said officials have "reached out to the Department of Justice for assistance in facilitating those efforts."

Does our city government really need to consult with the Department of Justice before our elected representatives can have an open discussion with their constituents? City Manager Brent Trout says a special council meeting is "really not the right place" for a conversation about White’s death and police procedure. Why not? If members of the city council are willing to hold special meetings on everything from utility rate hikes to tax incentives, they should be willing to listen to the public’s concerns about a citizen’s death at the hands of Topeka police officers.

Moreover, all but four council members deferred to the city’s statement instead of telling a Capital-Journal reporter whether they would support a special meeting. This isn’t transparency, and it isn’t leadership.

The very least members of the city council can do is participate in the public forum on Dec. 20. It will be held at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library’s Marvin Auditorium at 6 p.m., and Topekans should pay close attention to which elected officials find the time to show up.

Members of The Capital-Journal’s editorial advisory board are Zach Ahrens, Matt Johnson, Ray Beers Jr., Laura Burton, Garry Cushinberry, Mike Hall, Jessica Lucas, Veronica Padilla and John Stauffer.