This happens because cops have trained the media to do it. Cops have an informational advantage over journalists and use it. A huge chunk, just by volume, of n

This happens because cops have trained the media to do it. Cops have an informational advantage over journalists and use it. A huge chunk, just by volume, of news comes from the local crime beat. That means journalists need to be on friendly terms with cops, because they usually have a near-monopoly on this information and can choose to give it to someone more pliant. So that's why you get tortured headlines like 'Bystander killed by bullet in officer-involved shooting' - maybe the editor is a lawn-order authoritarian, maybe not, but they definitely don't want their sources to dry up.