We received criticism recently for running a story with two pictures of a man who fled from police after they attempted to serve him with involuntary commitment papers.

We reported that the man's mother had requested the order, and when the police came to serve it he ran from his home and jumped into the Tar River near the footbridge at the Town Common. Six police cars and two fire engines responded to the scene as officers finally coaxed the man from the muddy water.

The story ran on the front page the next day. The coverage included one picture of the man in the river with only his head visible above water. The second picture showed him surrendering to police.

Critics said we should have ignored this incident. They said the man was troubled and it did no good to splash these moments of torment across the front page.

Our dilemma: Eight official vehicles with lights flashing had converged on arguably our community's most public and accessible park in the middle of a work day. Police gave chase to a man who then jumped into the river and ultimately placed him in custody. A Reflector photographer recorded the events.

What do we do? Do we ignore such a visible event? What public questions or concerns would arise from the vacuum created by such a hole in local coverage?

I understand the point of view of those critical of our decision. It is not an easy or pleasant thing to put these moments in front of the public, but in my view our readers have a right to know and see what happens in their community when it takes place in such a public way in so public a place.

This is particularly true in light of the fact that earlier this year in another case involving involuntary commitment, a young man was shot to death by police along Greenville's busiest roadway during the morning rush hour. Also, had I been one of those near the downtown area who saw the police lights flashing at the park, I would have wanted to know at least the basic nature of what happened. I would look to the newspaper to answer that question.

I think we did that appropriately. We did not identify the man or his family. Our pictures were from a sufficient distance that they did not clearly identify him to anyone who did not already know him and likely know of his troubles.

The coverage also showed the effectiveness of law enforcement and emergency services in quelling what could have escalated into a more serious incident.

There is certainly pain revealed in the story and pictures we published. Sadly that often accompanies the news of any community. But as long as journalists treat each case thoughtfully, show compassion for the afflicted and are honest with the public, I feel we can tell what's going on without adding insult to those already injured by the travails of their lives.

I believe we did that in this case, and we will continue to strive for that standard.

Al Clark is executive editor of The Daily Reflector. Tell him what you think at 252-329-9560 or at aclark@coxnc.com.