CHAPEL HILL |   The sentencing acted as a reminder.

When Demario Atwater was sent to federal prison for life in September for the murder of UNC-Chapel Hill student body President Eve Carson, the Chapel Hill community reflected on the weeklong investigation, which attracted national attention.

Today, more than two and an half years have passed since Eve Carson’s murder and — although police say they are better prepared should the national press descend on Chapel Hill again — questions remain as to just how well positioned they are to handle a similar crisis.

When the news of the Carson killing broke in March 2008, the Chapel Hill Police Department was immediately overwhelmed with requests from local, state and national media.

“It quickly got to the point where they were managing … us more than we were managing them,” said Chapel Hill police Lt. Kevin Gunter.

At issue during the Carson investigation, explained Gunter, included a breakdown in the police department’s telephone information line, a lack of space to accommodate media satellite trucks and challenges related to the release of information.

The Chapel Hill Police Department had just one telephone line dedicated to handling information requests, said Gunter, and the volume of calls quickly overwhelmed the one desk operator assigned to the phone.

The media satellite trucks posed another problem. The Chapel Hill Police Department did not have sufficient parking for media trucks, which at times blocked the department’s driveway, said Gunter.

A third issue was the release of information. The police initially offered exclusive interviews to the national press, said Gunter, until it became an “impossible feat” due to time constraints.

While Gunter said his experience in handling the Carson investigation would be an asset in future situations, a lack of formal planning documents calls into question the Police Department’s readiness to handle a crisis of similar magnitude.

The police department’s “Information Release” policy, which was created in 2004 and revised in 2006, was not updated after the Carson situation. The document explains police information release procedures, however it does not mention specific solutions to the telephone, media parking and large volume information request issues.

“There have been no policy changes that have been directly related to the Eve Carson situation,” said Gunter.

Chapel Hill police Assistant Chief Chris Blue said an updated document would not be necessary because logistical issues are “a command decision” made at the time by the chief.

Instead, Gunter said, an informal and internal police meeting was held about six months after the investigation. Though no minutes or official documentation were kept, explained Gunter, the police discussed solutions to the telephone and parking issues.

Potential improvements included assigning at least one more officer to the phones, an expansion of the voice mail system and the creation of a remote media center—potentially in a parking lot or athletic field — to accommodate press conferences and media trucks, explained Gunter.

Although the Police Department did not develop a response plan after the Carson murder, the Town of Chapel Hill worked with other public officials and business leaders to craft an updated emergency response plan between 2007 and 2010.

The plan, outlined in a document titled, “Emergency Communications Resource Guide for Communications in Orange County, N.C.,” was written by the Communicators Work Group, an organization of public officials and private business leaders. Gunter and Chapel Hill public information officer Catherine Lazorko both work with the Communicators Work Group.

The guide was updated in 2010 and includes “communication readiness activities” and instructions for writing press releases in disaster situations. The report, however, it not a roadmap for dealing with national media attention and it was not updated specifically in response to the Carson situation, said Lazorko.

“We don’t have policies that address every situation and we never will,” she said. “We do need to have good relationships and good working situations to address these situations.”

Lazorko says that a specific plan is not necessary because every situation is unique.

This idea will be put to the test should the national media return to Chapel Hill.