The story by staff writer Justin M. Palk states Bremer, 39, of Myersville was traveling more than 100 mph and was not wearing a seat belt when he died Oct. 22.

Palk's story is based on a copy of the crash reconstruction report from the Frederick County Sheriff's Office.

James Franklin Sweeney Jr., 52, of Frederick fled after Bremer tried to stop him for a traffic violation in the 400 block of West Patrick Street.

Sweeney pleaded guilty June 3 to charges resulting in Bremer's death. He will spend eight years in the Department of Corrections and serve three years of supervised probation.

Some of you wondered why The News-Post published the story. You scolded us in your comments on our website, fredericknewspost.com. Other commenters applauded The FNP. In all, the story received more than 8,400 hits online, a significant number.

One News-Post reader sent a letter stating he would not renew his subscription to the newspaper in protest. "This is such a sleazy and disgusting story that I refuse to read it, and it shows how low The FNP will stoop for a supposed news story," wrote Schelby Buschman of Frederick in a letter published Thursday.

To be honest, we knew the story would draw the ire of some readers.

In the end, however, we believed the story was too important to shield from public view. Truth and facts are the sworn enemy of rumor, speculation and innuendo.

Additionally, we heard from readers who wanted to know more about what happened. But Sweeney's guilty plea meant details would not be made public at a criminal trial.

That left The News-Post with a watchdog obligation to dislodge the crash reconstruction report under Maryland's Public Information Act.

We published the story for a number of reasons, with public safety topping the list. An officer's decision to pursue or not pursue can lead to injury or death.

For example, a News-Post editorial published Dec. 8, 2008, states the federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System recorded 67 people in Maryland died in crashes involving police pursuit from 1990 to 2006. Thirty of those were bystanders, 29 of them in other vehicles.

Another reason we published is because police pursuits can lead to lawsuits against municipalities and police agencies, particularly when someone is injured or killed.

That brings taxpayer dollars into play, as in the case involving John Wayne Adkins, 28, of Middletown who died during a police vehicle pursuit Nov. 13, 2005, on Md. 85.

The fleeing suspect, James Joseph Mervinsky, slammed into him, according to a lawsuit filed by Adkins' family against Frederick County, the state of Maryland, the Frederick County Sheriff's Office and individual deputies and Mervinsky. The suit alleges wrongful death.

Additionally, taxpayers have the right to a public explanation so they can make informed contributions to the debate regarding police pursuits. When and why should officers pursue? How can pursuits be made safer?

Some polices agencies have restrictive pursuit policies, meaning officers will chase suspects at a high rate of speed only if several criteria are met.

For example, a suspect has to have been involved in a violent offense, or threatened to use force likely to cause death or serious injury. A minor traffic violation would not be enough to support a high-speed chase.

Police officers are the good guys. We get that. No one at The News-Post questions Officer Bremer's valor and courage, and we did not publish the story to hurt his family or embarrass the Frederick Police Department. We did not publish the story to suggest police should stop chasing down bad guys. Rather, The News-Post published a straightforward accounting of the facts so everybody understands the lessons learned and can make informed decisions going forward.