When useful information is known but not disclosed to the decision makers, the information can’t be acted on. The person deciding not to disclose bears some accountability.
But if the information is disclosed to the decision makers, but they don’t act on it, it is the decision makers who bear the accountability.
“Church Shooter Was Ticking Bomb,” The Wall Street Journal, May 8, 2018 A6. The church shooter in Sutherland Springs, Texas, made a video confession five years earlier.
He held a handgun to his wife’s head in 2012. The video confession was disclosed in his court martial in 2012. He was convicted of domestic violence, but the Air Force failed to pass that on to the FBI database, which would affect his ability to buy guns. His superior was convinced the shooter was dangerous and likely to harm someone. The shooter was put into a mental hospital, but escaped.
How many people knew about the shooter’s tendencies but didn’t report it to the proper authorities? How many proper authorities failed to fulfill their duties? Twenty-six people died.
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