06/20/2026
Originally posted in 2019…still true today.
We live in a day and time where “information is power”.
People always want to be in the know.
I’ve literally seen people stand and video while someone begs for help.
The human desire to feel powerful, needed and important is overwhelming at times.
We want the best, but pay the least.
We want the fastest, yet move the slowest.
We value our opinions, but disregard others.
We base facts off of Facebook and spread rumors like wildfire just to be the 1st to get it shared so that it can be on a news station, or go viral.
We want to see the goriest, but sacrifice our minds & the well being of others to capture it.
Far too many people have lost Respect for others.
Compassion is gone.
Dignity & Integrity are almost extinct.
All sacrificed for likes, shares, or a mention of your name on the local news.
Let me say this, and hear me out loud and clear. 👂🏽👂🏽
Just because you can...doesn’t mean you should.
It’s not just today. I’ve worked in Emergency Services for almost 20 years and been around it my entire life and I’ve seen this happen for years, but it is getting completely out of hand. Technology is great. We can map out a location & directions within seconds. We can keep track of our heart rate, our exercise routine and even plan a meal at the drop of a hat. But information is often times shared so fast, that people don’t realize that as authorities we haven’t even had time to make a notification or contact the next of kin...so they find out on Facebook. And that is UNACCEPTABLE!
Now imagine this. You’re scrolling through Facebook, just like you were as you landed on this post...but you see a picture of something that gets your attention. The WOW factor kicks in and you open the post because you read a title like “Deadly Accident” or “Severe Situation” and then you see the picture. A picture that holds the sight that you don’t ever want to see. Your wife’s SUV. Your husbands truck. Your kids car. Mangled. Demolished. In pieces!
People often times ask me, “How do you do what you do...I couldn’t imagine seeing some of the things you see.”
That part isn’t near as difficult as having to kneel down in the living room of a house and tell a momma that her baby isn’t coming home. The conditions of the job are challenging sometimes, but it will never match up to doing a death notification.
Having to tell someone that their loved one isn’t coming home is absolutely awful. However we do so in a semi-controlled environment with trained people usually. Typically there’s a chaplain/minister and either myself or a deputy and we want the family to know in person, to confirm the identity, and answer questions. But that’s nearly impossible when pictures get hundreds of shares and the family finds out through a media outlet before a person can look them in the eye, comfort them and tell them the unfortunate news.
This post is long and I may catch flack off of it but so be it. It is UNACCEPTABLE, DISRESPECTFUL, DISTASTEFUL, INAPPROPRIATE, WRONG, UGLY and DISHEARTENING to know that a like, share and an hour of fame means more to you than the well being of a family somewhere.
I surely hope that you never lose a loved one or friend and you find out by a social media post or news outlet.
I’ll finish with this.
I will always do my best to do notifications in person. Either me, one of my Deputies or if out of county or state, someone from law enforcement or another coroner’s office will come in person. No one deserves to see pictures or videos of any accident of their loved ones.
“Well I have a 1st amendment right!” Nooooooooooo...the right is the freedom of the press...not freedom to be ignorant & obnoxious to the feelings of others. Again, just because you can...doesn’t mean you should.
I am asking all who read this to consider...what if that was someone you loved. Would you be ok with finding out by a post?
Coroner Daniel Cook
TCCO
