texas
Section 36.02 - Bribery
(a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly offers, confers, or agrees to confer on another, or solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept from another:
(1) any benefit as consideration for the recipient's decision, opinion, recommendation, vote, or other exercise of discretion as a public servant, party official, or voter;
(2) any benefit as consideration for the recipient's decision, vote, recommendation, or other exercise of official discretion in a judicial or administrative proceeding;
(3) any benefit as consideration for a violation of a duty imposed by law on a public servant or party official; or
(4) any benefit that is a political contribution as defined by Title 15, Election Code, or that is an expenditure made and reported in accordance with Chapter 305, Government Code, if the benefit was offered, conferred, solicited, accepted, or agreed to pursuant to an express agreement to take or withhold a specific exercise of official discretion if such exercise of official discretion would not have been taken or withheld but for the benefit; notwithstanding any rule of evidence or jury instruction allowing factual inferences in the absence of certain evidence, direct evidence of the express agreement shall be required in any prosecution under this subdivision.
(b) It is no defense to prosecution under this section that a person whom the actor sought to influence was not qualified to act in the desired way whether because he had not yet assumed office or he lacked jurisdiction or for any other reason.
(c) It is no defense to prosecution under this section that the benefit is not offered or conferred or that the benefit is not solicited or accepted until after:
(1) the decision, opinion, recommendation, vote, or other exercise of discretion has occurred; or
(2) the public servant ceases to be a public servant.
(d) It is an exception to the application of Subdivisions (1), (2), and (3) of Subsection (a) that the benefit is a political contribution as defined by Title 15, Election Code, or an expenditure made and reported in accordance with Chapter 305, Government Code.
(e) An offense under this section is a felony of the second degree.
Tex. Pen. Code § 36.02
Amended By Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. 9/1/1994.
Amended By Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 304, Sec. 4.02, eff. 1/1/1992
Amended By Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3237, ch. 558, Sec. 2, eff. 9/1/1983
Amended by Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 915, ch. 342, Sec. 11, eff. 9/1/1975
Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, Sec. 1, eff. 1/1/1974.
On occasion, publicising the details of a criminal case in the news media can assist the police in attracting the attention of the public to the case in the hopes of inducing a witness to come forward. In this case, there would appear to be no need of such inducement considering the availability of witnesses, recorded evidence and the perpetrator.
So, for a police officer to speak to a journalist about this case would be an act outside the scope of their duties, that may still occur due to a personal relationship between the officer and the journalist.
It could then be argued if 'Robert Payne' offered an inducement to a police officer to:
'Not speak of this matter to the news media unless doing so is a neccesary part of your official duties'
... is not a bribe because:
It does not request the recipient exercise discretion as a public servant.
It does not request that the recipient alter their decision, vote, recommendation, or other exercise of official discretion in a judicial or administrative proceeding.
It does not encourage a violation of a duty imposed by law on a public servant or party official.
It is not a political contribution.
As I wrote it, the inducement is for the officer to not perform an act that the officer might undertake outside of their official duties, and that if doing so was necessary for the officer to discharge their duties, the inducement should not apply.
This is no more a bribe than offering a police officer money for them to not mow the lawn of their personal residence before noon, or as an offer to buy their old bicycle. It is unrelated to their official duties, so is not bribery.
However, if 'Robert Payne' was to offer such an inducement, he should be very careful to make sure that it is on record (written or electronic) that the inducement is for the officer to not undertake acts outside the scope of their official duties, in case the inducement is misunderstood to be a bribe. First asking the officer if it is a necessary part of their duties to inform the news media, and receiving a 'No' response may be advisable.
Considering that to avoid media attention, 'Robert Payne' may also wish to offer inducements to the other witnesses, care would have to be taken to ensure that they, too, properly understood that the inducement was only for them to not speak to the news media, otherwise accusations of witness tampering could also result.