In Wednesday’s edition, The Dispatch reported the arrest of a teenager, who allegedly threatened and hit another minor with a gun while recording a video that quickly went viral.

The disturbing nature of the event, the races of the two teens and the misdemeanor charge that was filed have raised the emotional stakes, leading some readers to believe the white suspect was treated differently than Black suspects are in similar situations.

Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said the misdemeanor charge was typical of how these cases are treated, which was confirmed by District Attorney Scott Colom, who is Black.

Both said felony charges could be filed as the judicial process continues.

Similarly, The Dispatch has also been criticized for the use of the word “allegedly” in our reporting of the story.

Wrote one Facebook commenter: “Is it alleged because of the color of his skin, Commercial Dispatch? Because if the roles were reversed this article would have read totally different.”

This is a complaint we hear from time to time.

Our response has never changed because our policy has never changed. We use the term “alleged” or “allegedly” in all of our crime reporting and make no distinctions with regard to race, religion, gender, ethnicity or any other demographic.

We do this for two reasons.

First, it is not the job of a newspaper to declare guilt or innocence when reporting a crime story. That is for the courts to determine. Our job is to report the known details of the event without speculating as to guilt or innocence, even when it may seem clear that the person arrested and charged is guilty.

To that, we ask, “clear to whom?”

Many times, things are not as they seem. New information emerges. Accounts of the crime change. What may seem to have been clear can become more complicated.

One of the tenets of our judicial system is that someone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty, which is important to remember. People who are charged with a crime are not always proven to be guilty of a crime.

We believe making the distinction between someone charged or suspected of a crime and someone convicted of a crime is an important one when reporting on crimes.

Second, there are legal implications for us should we refer to someone as having committed a crime who is ultimately proven to be not guilty. That’s called defamation. Defamation is a communication that can be proven to be false that damages a person’s reputation. A person in those circumstances can sue for the damage done to his/her reputation.

We adhere to the policy of using “alleged” or “allegedly’ in every crime story we report not just because of potential litigation, but because we recognize our responsibility and always try to hold ourselves to a higher standard of accuracy.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.