Beat notes is a weekly feature from Dispatch journalists who share what’s been happening in their area of coverage and upcoming events. This week we hear from Bailey Gallion, who covers public safety and breaking news.
If you read Dispatch.com early in the morning, you may have seen my byline.
I start my day at 6 a.m., monitoring the police scanner, following up on overnight crimes, filing public records requests for records like crash reports and body camera footage and sometimes heading out to the scene of a major fire or homicide to talk to the people most impacted.
The public safety beat means I rely a lot on police sources and public records, but some of my best articles come from ordinary people who trust me to share their stories.
Recent top stories
This summer
I spent some time tracking down first responders who went to New York in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon to reflect on how those events have shaped their lives. It was a great honor to sit down with these men and hear their stories.
Later in September, Dispatch photographer Doral Chenoweth and I made the hike down to Vinton County to cover the arraignment hearing for Elizabeth Siders, mother of 16 children rescued from a small house in Hamden in squalid conditions. This routine hearing had a bit of a twist when speculation emerged about whether Siders was pregnant.
I also helped cover the hazing allegations around the Olentangy Orange High School girls’ soccer team. This matter has caught the attention of parents in the area, and my colleague Sheridan Hendrix and I continue to seek records and interviews with involved parties to better understand what happened.
Stories to look for
I will head down to the Vinton County Courthouse again on Oct. 21 to cover a pretrial hearing for Brandon Henderson, charged with gross sexual imposition, sexual battery and child endangerment in a case linked to the Siders’ family.
My coworkers and I are continuing to cover the use and alleged misuse of Flock cameras at local police departments. We will cover new cases and developments as they emerge and continue to seek public records that show how officers are using this technology.
And as always, I will keep covering public safety and the breaking news of the day, including homicides, high profile crashes, crime trends and public safety accountability stories.
I am always looking for ideas and sources about policing, public safety, surveillance, crime and more. If you have an idea for me to look into, please drop me a line.
Public safety and breaking news reporter Bailey Gallion can be reached at bagallion@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Reporter Bailey Gallion covers crime, policing, morning breaking news
