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San Francisco News Crew Robbed, Security Guard Shot, Suspects In Custody; SAG-AFTRA Decries “Disturbing” Attack – Update
Denise Petski Deadline•February 25, 2019
UPDATED with SAG-AFTRA statement: A TV news crew for San Francisco CBS affiliate KPIX 5 was robbed at gunpoint of a camera and tripod while covering the Oakland teachers strike Sunday night. One of the two suspects shot the crew’s security guard, the station reports.
KPIX said a reporter and a photographer were at the Oakland Library gathering interviews about the strike when a car pulled up, brandished a gun and two men got out and demanded the crew’s camera. The crew surrendered the equipment and began walking back to their van.
One of the men shot the guard in the leg, the station said. The guard returned fire and hit one of the suspects in the upper leg. That suspect went to a local hospital, where he was arrested by Oakland police and reported to be in stable condition. The other was detained later following a car chase with police.
The guard’s condition wasn’t immediately known.
SAG-AFTRA, which represents broadcast journalists, issued a statement today about the incident:
“The news of the Sunday attack on a KPIX news crew and their security guard is disturbing. With journalists increasingly becoming the targets of violence and harassment, SAG-AFTRA has made safety its top priority. The union has been working with journalists, management and police departments in Oakland, the Bay Area and at other affected areas nationwide to provide additional protections for news crews, including adding enforceable contract provisions concerning safety.
“Joe Vasquez, the reporter whose team was attacked, has helped lead union efforts in this area as a shop steward, and we look forward to continuing to work with him to prevent these kinds of incidents. Additionally, CBS, the owner of KPIX, and local management have been partners, willing to confront the issue and work toward solutions.
“We will continue discussions about journalist safety at the next Bay Area Safety Summit in Oakland and at our national Broadcast Steering Committee meeting in Los Angeles. Our thoughts are with Matt Meredith, the guard who was wounded; we wish him a full and speedy recovery.”
There are so many things wrong with this, I don’t even know where to start. California, one of the states with the toughest gun laws in the nation. A news crew with armed security while interviewing striking teachers in Oakland. Robbed at gun point by unidentified assailants, one of which was arrested at the hospital, the other detained after a car chase, but we can’t identify them. Shots exchanged over a camera and tripod. All in a sanctuary city. And SAG has nothing to say about the preps, just more security for them.
I’m guessing a new tax would have prevented this? Maybe a new law? How about more armed security for news crews, and less armed security for the classrooms? If it saves just one life?
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