National Police Association spokesperson responds to SPD not releasing new video tied to acid attack

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A National Police Association representative said the Savannah Police Department’s decision to withhold releasing videos involving the acid attack at Forsyth Park showed a step in the right direction to find the attacker.

Sergeant Betsy Smith has been working in law enforcement since 1976, 29 of those years as a police officer.

With the information available to her at this time, she said that not releasing videos to the public and keeping things close to the vest indicates that SPD is close to finding a suspect.

As WTOC reported on Tuesday, SPD announced it would not release videos captured by nearby cameras to maintain the integrity of its investigation. They claim it could confuse people who want to help find the person who allegedly doused Ashley Wasielewski with sulfuric acid in December.

Smith wants to reassure people living here and spending time at the park to have faith in SPD’s operations.

“While we in the public all want more information, what SPD is doing now is not only trying to identify that offender, if they haven’t already, but to prepare that case for prosecution to be able to get justice for this victim.”

The FBI told WTOC on Wednesday that they will not comment on SPD’s decision, but that they are in lockstep with their investigation, which is now into late April.

“The FBI does not discuss actions taken in the course of an investigation. While it would be inappropriate to confirm or deny any particular interview, please note that the FBI pursues all actions that we believe may help advance the investigation or are appropriate for understanding the matter thoroughly,” they wrote.

National Police Association spokesperson shares her knowledge on acid attacks

Acid attacks have been uncommon in Smith’s five decades in law enforcement, but she said they have mostly centered around religiously motivated crimes. This incident, in her experience, could be a domestic incident or someone dealing with extreme mental illness with access to the sulfuric acid.

She understands the public frustration in having limited information, but she believes that the authorities are doing the right thing, keeping things internal for now.

“We live in such an instantaneous world now where we want to see everything that happens, and we know that there are cameras everywhere. We’ve got to let the investigative process play out right now,” she said. “One of the things we encourage law enforcement agencies to do is to communicate with the public. And of course, the best way to do that is through the media.”

She encouraged SPD to speak to the public directly soon to ease some stress.

“That could go a long way to calm the fears of the public because, of course, this is such a horrific attack – the unknown is very often what’s very frightening.”

But, they understand the decision to ensure long-term success for them and resolve for the victim.

“While we in the public all want more information, what SPD is doing now is not only trying to identify the offender, if they haven’t already, but to prepare that case for prosecution to be able to get justice for this victim. And I think that the public really needs to understand that and hope and pray for that.”

WTOC reached out to SPD Wednesday to ask some follow-up questions about Tuesday night’s decision. We’re waiting to hear back about how much video they have gone through so far, if there are any components of the video they’ve seen that stand out like a person or an object or anything, and how the new cameras SCAD installed are operating now.