As a city of no more than 6,000 people, Falcon Heights has never needed a communications director. But after last week's police shooting of Philando Castile, which took place during a traffic stop in the Ramsey County suburb, the City Council decided it needed help from a public relations firms to field media requests and other inquiries.
The announcement didn't surprise local crisis management professionals, who say that communications specialists can help in high-stakes situations.
"It's not about spin as much as it is about helping the client really focus on and articulate clearly what their position is," said Jon Austin, senior partner of communications consultancy J. Austin & Associates.
A good communications program will help both the client and people who want information, Austin said.
"Peace, trust, and talking are what matter most," said Jim Lukaszewski, president of The Lukaszewski Group Division of Risdall Marketing Group. "Public relations specialists can be very helpful in these circumstances. The city is pretty brave to take this step knowing full well they'll be criticized from just about every angle."
Castile, a 32-year-old school cafeteria supervisor from St. Paul, was fatally shot by a police officer Wednesday night during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights. The officer was a member of the St. Anthony Police Department, which has a contract to provide police services in Falcon Heights.
The Falcon Heights City Council voted Friday voted to hire a public relations firm to represent the city in the aftermath of the shooting. Blois Olson, the principal of small agency Fluence Media, is currently helping the city pro-bono with its communications needs, he said, in an interview Monday. Any contract still has to go through the city's procurement process, Olson said.
Falcon Heights does not have a communications director, and it hasn't had to handle an incident like this before, Olson said. The main goal is for the city to be "transparent" and "visible," he said.
