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Concerning these phone calls that the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office released to the media:

I'd like to spend a moment on that. Technically, you're correct. The Hogan family phone calls were not leaked. The Sheriff's Office did release the tapes to media.

Here's my problem with this. I am a former news reporter. What happened here is not "common procedure," as you call it. When tapes are released to the public, there's a compelling reason for that.

I myself did stories where the local district attorney (who is very media savvy) would call me and say that he had some interesting audio from a taped jailhouse conversation. He always had a reason for calling me with audio, because the taped conversations usually revealed something important, like confessing to an alleged crime, or saying something that incriminated him and proved that he committed the crime. The point is, there was always a valid reason for the district attorney releasing the tapes, and it always served a larger purpose or illustrated how the county I covered had a "zero tolerance" level for certain kinds of crimes.

By comparison, the Nick Hogan tapes serve no useful purpose whatsoever. It's pretty clear to me that whoever oversees these taped jailhouse conversations is very irresponsible and did it only to feed the tabloid media's sick hunger for this kind of crap. If Nick had confided to his dad that he committed a murder, or we learned that he was part of some larger drug cartel, I could see the value. But it's just a kid in a cell crying to his parents, who happen to be famous.

A responsible law enforcement agency would know that releasing these tapes serves no public purpose, and that there are far better uses of their time than to revel in the misfortunes of a young kid who's adjusting to a rough first few weeks in jail.

I think it's an abuse of power, and a sign that someone over there needs to be sat down and given a performance review. Nick Hogan is doing his time, and I'm sure it's not fun. Do we really need to hear a tape confirming this? When a law enforcement agency stops focusing on its job, and starts venturing into providing content for tabloid journalism, we have a problem.

This is really not about Hulk Hogan and his family. It's about a taxpayer funded agency that is getting a little too cute and a little too silly with its technology.

Some of us may not like some of what we're learning about the way the Bollea family acts, talks or thinks, but that is not a justification for the Sheriff's Office to release tapes every time Hulk talks to his kid on the phone. The family should not have to worry that every time they speak, their conversations are going to be sent directly to the media by a police agency that wants to get in on the publicity machine action.

Nick Vincent
Round Rock, TX

Powell replies: I emailed Nick Vincent and asked him whether the authorities were legally obligated to turn over the tapes per the media's request. That's what I meant when I used the "common procedure" description. Nick wrote back the following...

***

Now that you mention this, I have to stop and think. My email to you was predicated on the assumption that the Sheriff's Office simply offered the tapes to the media. I honestly didn't stop to think that perhaps the media was asking for copies of any taped conversations among the Hogans.

This would fall under the "Freedom of Information Act" (FOIA). Basically if a reporter wants to see copies of certain documents or records from a public entity, he has to send a formal written request.

I honestly don't know if FOIA governs audio tapes held by a law enforcement agency. It might. I'm not sure if the police agencies can deny access, perhaps claiming that any audio they have is official police work and could be part of a possible investigation, and therefore won't be released. I'm just not sure. Again, I was assuming the cops were simply offering it up to the media.

But on the flip side, if someone did take the time to file a FOIA request for any and all phone conversations involving inmate Nick Bollea, what does this say about our media? Is there an overriding public interest to asking for those tapes? I would say no. If this is the case, that means some reporter actually was fishing for material, and actually took the time to make the request without knowing what any of the Hogans might say on tape beforehand.

I'd be interested to see the timeline on these phone calls—when they happened. Were they very recent? They must be. He hasn't been in jail that long. In my experience, some public agencies don't exactly respond in a timely manner to FOIA requests. This suggests to me that the Sheriff's office either responded very quickly, or perhaps they did offer the tapes unsolicited.

So if the Sheriff's Office offered the tapes without being solicited, that's scummy. If some media outlet put in a formal request for access to the tapes, that's scummy too.

My only point is that in my experience as a reporter, law enforcement usually only offers these tapes to the media when there's a good reason. In my mind, to hear Nick Bollea cry and whimper, or to hear Linda carry on are not good reasons.

Nick Vincent

Powell replies: I've stated all along that I don't understand the purpose behind releasing audio tapes of a minor inmate's calls to his family. What surprises me most is that the Hogans weren't warned that the recordings could be released to the media. Hulk and Linda seemed to acknowledge the possibility during their conversations with Nick, but for whatever reason they obviously didn't seem too concerned about it.

I'm stunned that the ultra savvy Hulk Hogan didn't show more restraint. Heck, I'm shocked he didn't perform for the media during these conversations. It makes me wonder whether the Hogan family totally comprehended what would happen with the audio. That's one thing their lawyer should have pounded into their heads due to the civil trial.

I don't totally agree with Nick's description of the media requesting this information as "scummy" since they are legally allowed to do so. I think he raises several good points and I'm not crazy about the law, but part of me is happy to see Hulk and Linda expose their true nature, which is scummier than anything the media has done in this case.

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