Police lawyer threatens reporter: don't report smirking cop's corpse selfie

A St. Louis-area police officer was photographed posing with a murder victim's corpse, and a police lawyer threatened the newsroom to whom the image was leaked. KMOV, far from being impressed by the attempt to intimidate it, posted Lauren Trager's article wondering what on Earth a cops was doing giving the thumbs up while fooling around with Omar Rahman's dead body — and also Lynette M. Petruska's threatening letter.

In your mind, is there any reasonable explanation for what that officer was doing? asked Investigative Reporter Lauren Trager. No, said Staton. Because when they come to a call, they're supposed to be there to help and protect, not doing what he was doing with thumbs up and a smirk on his face.

Staton's attorney, Antonio Romanucci, agrees.

It's hideous. The implications of this photograph are just astronomical, said Romanucci.

He believes something isn't right.

I have seen thousands and thousands of forensic photographs, I have never seen a staged photograph of an officer next to a deceased body, Romanucci said.

The North County Policing Cooperative covers Vinita Park and Wellston, just outside of St. Louis city limits in Missouri. The legal letters are a good read; KMOV's counsel referred the police to the reply given in the case of Arkell v. Pressdram.