Cross posted to the MRC's NewsBusters blog
Late last week, the release of bodycam video in two separate incidents of police violence put on display the double standard much of the media hold in which cases of questionable police violence are considered newsworthy.
Out of Lovesville, Colorado, not not only was there bodycam video released of an elderly white woman with dementia being tackled by cops after she left a Wal-Mart without paying, but there was even surveillance video of cops bragging and laughing about the arrest afterwards which resulted in the woman receiving a broken arm.
The liberal media that are so quick to pounce on cases that can be used to suggest cops are racially motivated have so far only modestly given attention to the story, with Friday's World News Tonight on ABC giving it a mere 23 seconds, and the CBS Evening News 24 seconds. On Tuesday, CBS This Morning finally got to the story, giving it seven minutes.
MSNBC so far has not touched the story while CNN has only covered it one time on Saturday afternoon. CNN Newsroom with Fredricka Whitfield gave the story two minutes and 22 seconds. At 12:52 p.m. Whitfield informed viewers:
[video:http://www.mrctv.org/node/559804 align:center]
All right, three police officers from Loveland, Colorado, have resigned from the force following the violent arrest of an elderly woman with dementia -- 73-year-old Karen Garner was badly injured. Not only is the surveillance video shocking, but, as CNN affiliate KUSA reports, so are the actions of the arresting officers joking about what they had done.
An unidentified reporter recalled that the two arresting officers had been fired, and then recalled the rough treatment received by Karen Garner after she walked out of a Wal-Mart without paying, presumably because of her mental problems:
The 73-year-old Garner -- who suffers from dementia -- was forcibly arrested by officers Austin Hopp and Daria Jalali, accused of shoplifting about $14 worth of soda and laundry detergent from a Wal-Mart near her home. Garner's lawyer says the officer dislocated Garner's shoulder, broke a bone in her arm, and sprained her wrist, and that Garner then spent six hours behind bars without medical care.
The reporter soon recalled that other video shows cops showing off the video of the arrest and laughing about it: "Earlier this week, Garner's lawyer released surveillance video, it appears to show officers Hopp and Jalali laughing and celebrating while watching body camera video of the incident right after it happened."
The PBS NewsHour also spent 51 seconds on the story on Wednesday last week.
Last week on Friday, CBS This Morning was notably quicker to make time for a story in which an older African American woman in North Carolina was arrested and roughly handled after she failed to notice that she was being pursued by several police cars for 10 miles, and didn't stop until cops used steel spikes to stop her by force.
Co-host Gayle King went overboard in declaring that the incident was proof of racism even though all racial groups are sometimes subjected to questionable police violence.
It's hard to even say that with a straight face, David. I mean, after the video that we looked at, those officers, they still have a job on that force? I am so angry and so saddened by what I just saw. ... And they're laughing at her -- they're laughing at her. This is the thing, guys. Black people are not treated with humanity in so many cases, and that's why I'm so sick of it. And I just don't know how many stories we have to see like this.
Good Morning America on Saturday gave the same story two minutes and 22 seconds.
The episode of CBS This Morning was sponsored in part by Kohl's. Their contact information is linked.
Transcripts follow:
CBS This Morning
April 30,2021
7:16 a.m. Eastern
(...)
STEPHANIE BOTTOM, VICTIM OF POLICE VIOLENCE: You can't hurt vulnerable people. You can't force and brutalize innocent people. If I was guilty for not stopping right away for speeding, that did not call for what you did to me. They need to be held responsible.
DAVID BEGNAUD: Ms. Bottom pleaded guilty to failure to yield to the blue lights. She was also charged with speeding and resisting an officer -- those charges were dismissed. Now, we reached out to the Rowan County sheriff's office and the three responding officers -- we did not hear back. The Salisbury Police Department declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the city of Salisbury told us he cannot comment on pending litigation. It did previously issue a statement saying, quote, "The Salisbury Police Department strives for positive interactions with our residents and visitors."
GAYLE KING: It's hard to even say that with a straight face, David. I mean, after the video that we looked at, those officers, they still have a job on that force? I am so angry and so saddened by what I just saw.
BEGNAUD: Gayle, what was so surprising to me was the attorney saying to me, in the incident report, one of the officers says, "I pulled up on the side of her, and she looks like she might not know what's going on." And that's an indication that they had a heads up before they ever ripped her out of her car.
KING: And they're laughing at her -- they're laughing at her. This is the thing, guys. Black people are not treated with humanity in so many cases, and that's why I'm so sick of it. And I just don't know how many stories we have to see like this. And this is the thing -- this was in 2019 before all of the stories that we now know the names. What were you going to say, Anthony?
ANTHONY MASON: I was just going to say, the thing that struck me was one of the first things that David said, that they believe she was going 10 miles an hour over the speed limit? That's what started this? And that leads to this?
BEGNAUD: If there wasn't video of this, she'd be telling the story for the rest of her life, and --
KING: And nobody would believe her. And those cops are still working.
(...)
CNN Newsroom
May 1, 2021
12:52 p.m. Eastern
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: All right, three police officers from Loveland, Colorado, have resigned from the force following the violent arrest of an elderly woman with dementia -- 73-year-old Karen Garner was badly injured. Not only is the surveillance video shocking, but, as CNN affiliate KUSA reports, so are the actions of the arresting officers joking about what they had done. We do need to warn you, the following video is disturbing.
AUDIO OF OFFICER FROM BODYCAM: Do you need to be arrested right now? No, no, no. Okay.
UNIDENTFIED MALE REPORTER: Ten months after Karen Garner was forced to the ground by police, handcuffed behind her back, the two officers who arrested her have resigned from the Loveland Police Department. as well as the community service officer who helped book Garner into jail. ... The 73-year-old Garner -- who suffers from dementia -- was forcibly arrested by officers Austin Hopp and Daria Jalali, accused of shoplifting about $14 worth of soda and laundry detergent from a Wal-Mart near her home. Garner's lawyer says the officer dislocated Garner's shoulder, broke a bone in her arm, and sprained her wrist, and that Garner then spent six hours behind bars without medical care.
ALLISA SWARTZ, DAUGHTER OF POLICE VIOLENCE VICTIM: It doesn't make any sense why they did what they did. She was going about her way, and all she could tell me was, "I don't understand why they hurt me."
REPORTER: Earlier this week, Garner's lawyer released surveillance video, it appears to show officers Hopp and Jalali laughing and celebrating while watching body camera video of the incident right after it happened. (clip of officers laughing) At a press conference today, Loveland Police Chief Robert Ticer said he was personally hurt by what he saw in those videos.
CHIEF ROBERT TICER, LOVELAND POLICE DEPARTMENT: Our goal at the Loveland Police Department has always been to make our community proud. We failed, and are very sorry for that.
REPORTER: Garner's lawyer says the chief's apology isn't nearly enough, and she's once again calling on Ticer to resign or be fired.
(...)