Leave it to Arizona’s Chandler Police Department to capitalize on a horrific tragedy for their own benefit.
On May 12, 2025, three-year-old Trigg Kiser drowned in his family’s backyard pool. His mother, Emilie Kiser, a popular social media personality, wasn’t home, as she was taking a break for an outing with a friend.
Emilie’s husband, Brady Kiser, was also caring for the couple’s infant when Trigg managed to sneak out into the pool. 3-5 minutes was all it took for the absolute unimaginable to happen.
Any sleep deprived parent with a toddler and a baby will tell you how hard it is to keep track of both kids at once and how fast things can happen. Most parents are lucky that typically, a kiddo will sneak off and make a mess.
In this case, a nightmare worst case scenario unfolded.
But that’s not the way that Chandler Police Department sees it, because what happened next wasn’t just a tragedy, they turned into a press release.
You read that right. They dropped a press release before charges were even filed.
Before a trial.
Before the family has even had time to grieve. A family that has begged for privacy to mourn the loss of their child but can’t because the media frenzy is so intense.
The Department’s press release states Brady could face fourth degree felony child abuse charges in connection with the accidental drowning, citing ARS 13-3623.
Could.
Not that they had not arrested him.
Not they had not filed charges.
Why?
Because we live in the age of performative policing.
When Police Start Writing Headlines Instead of Warrants
Let’s be clear: child deaths deserve investigation. Accountability matters.
Neglect is serious.
But there’s a difference between a thorough, quiet investigation and purposely crafting a PR campaign that exploits grieving parents’ names for clickbait and notoriety.
The officers involved (and their leadership, for that matter) knowingly chose to:
- Name the family in a public statement
- Speculate about possible criminal charges
- Outline what could happen in the media
- …And do it all before a single charge was filed
No arrests. No court hearing. Just suggestive language, official channels, and the giant, obnoxious bullhorn of public suspicion.
One press release makes them judge, jury, and executioners in the court of public opinion and they KNOW that. Yet they are blatantly infringing on this person’s constitutional right to due process so they can pander to the court of public opinion.
This a reputation hit job, orchestrated by the very people entrusted to pursue truth.
Why This Hurts More Than It Helps
First, it’s irresponsible and unprofessional.
Second, releasing a statement like this, naming a parent in connection with their own child’s death, before charges are filed has consequences:
- It taints public opinion before due process even begins
- It further traumatizes an already grieving family
- It devolves a horrific tragedy into spectacle
- It demonstrates that people shouldn’t cooperate with police because they could be next
And let’s be honest: if this weren’t a high-profile family with a large online following, would we even have heard about it?
ABSOLUTELY NOT.
When Justice Starts Looking Like Free PR
The press release wasn’t about transparency.
Let’s call this what it is: preemptive reputation management by law enforcement; a wholly unnecessary measure when you consider that local media outlets already cater to the police.
It’s unfortunately become standard in high-profile or emotionally charged cases; rather than wait for prosecutors, courts, or even evidence, departments now issue speculative press releases that frame someone as guilty without ever having to prove it.
What’s next? Will they issue Press Releases that they showed up to work today?
Police Media Manipulation
It’s easy enough to spot, just look for when police use phrases like:
- “Could be charged…”
- “Under investigation for…”
- “Potential criminal liability…”
These phrases carry weight, and in the warped court of public opinion, where soundbites reign supreme, many people will read or hear the headline and move along. People don’t hear nuance; they hear “That’s the guy.”
And even if no charges ever come, the damage is done. They effectively carried out character assassination.
The saddest part? This happens everyday to people who are marginalized and do not have money, means, or power to fight back. They don’t have people who will go to bat for them. We’re just seeing it play out on a grand scale with Chandler Police Department.
The Department’s preemptive press release not only presumes guilt, it initiates a form of trial by media that often costs people their jobs, relationships and peace of mind. Police actions like these do not happen in a vacuum. They ripple outward, damaging reputations, severing support systems, and creating financial instability, all before a person ever has their day in court. Livelihoods are often attacked not just through arrests and prosecution, but through public smear tactics and pretrial shaming that the justice system cannot and outright refuses, to undo.
Further, it is unknown whether the Chandler Police Department bothered to alert the family before further exploiting their tragedy through this press release. Request for comment is pending.
If You’re NOT Filing Charges, Don’t Issue Headlines
The Kisers just lost their child; that fact alone should be enough to slow the system down, not speed it up for clicks and attention.
If law enforcement really believed criminal negligence occurred, their only job is to file the case and pass it along to the prosecutor. That’s literally their only lane. What they shouldn’t do is issue a press release that hangs guilt in the air like a fog and destroys any shot at a fair trial.
This isn’t accountability; it’s opportunism in action.
Police departments should not set the news agenda because they are looking out for number one and no one else. Unless it’s one of their own under fire, and then they’re looking out for them, of course.
Where We Go From Here
Chandler Police Department, any Police Department for that matter: the tragic death of a child is not a PR opportunity.
This Police force has a Media Relations Department, by the way, which is becoming a more common and disturbing practice. We don’t know who that person is, what their credentials are, and what ethical obligations they are bound to, if any. Rather than invest in community-oriented policing, money is being thrown at controlling image rather than actions. Spin rather than accountability.
This is sacred ground. This family is hurting. The couple’s marriage is likely destroyed, and the police just came in and made everything that much worse and harder than it ever needed to be. That’s not heroic. It’s parasitic.
And if police departments everywhere can’t understand any of this, or can’t resist the urge to push a headline before charges are filed, then they’ve lost the plot entirely.
They are past the point of ethical return.
Police departments should be absolutely barred from making press releases if they can’t be responsible in how they use them.
Maricopa County already has a long-standing reputation for unconstitutional behavior and in their treatment of defendants, doing whatever it takes to secure a conviction. This further erodes their reputation and destroys what shred of trust they have in the community.
Let’s make a deal; let’s make this the beginning of the end of that long-standing bad behavior, because families deserve better. The public deserves better.
Real justice doesn’t need a press release; it needs ethical behavior and proof.
What You Can Do
Through everything happening at both the national and local levels, due process is disappearing before our very eyes. If this worries you, as it rightfully should, here’s some steps you can take.
- If you have ANY interaction with the police, DO NOT TALK and immediately ask for a lawyer; constitutional rights clearly are not being protected in America anymore.
- If you see this behavior in your community, speak up. Contact your local officials and local media outlets, tell them it’s not ok.
- Stand up against predatory news practices. BOYCOTT news outlet who won’t push back against manipulative police behavior that purposely infringes upon due process and choose to use harmful, sensationalist headlines (like WWMT or WoodTV8 in my area)
- If you are a voter in the area: remember this. Remember who condones this horrible behavior and vote them out of office.
- Email Chandler Arizona Police Department Chief at Bryan.Chapman@ChandlerAZ.gov and respectfully explain how this practice must stop and police MUST stay in their lane.
- Contact the ACLU of Arizona or your own state’s ACLU. Ask them to take up this issue and demand change.
