Home > Assault > Growing Push For Police To Charge People Who Assaulted Reporters

Growing Push For Police To Charge People Who Assaulted Reporters

February 24, 2011 at 10:56 am by Morbid

Sacramento, CA – When I posted the video of a FOX news crew being attacked by a mob of mourners outside a California IHOP, I only did so because it was a slow news day. Also, I thought the chick in green was the most annoying person ever and the way reporter John Lobertini used his mic against the angry crowd was hilarious. He was like a fairy waving a wand.

I didn’t have much of an opinion on it because I didn’t know what words were exchanged between the crew and the crowd that had gathered at an impromptu memorial for a man that had been shot and killed there earlier that day.

But I did think that at least some of those people involved would be charged with dragging camerawoman, Rebecca Little, to the ground by her hair and then kicking her while she was down. But to date that has not happened and a growing number of people want to know why — including the people who started the obligatory Facebook Page.

Sacramento police say their hands are tied as this is a misdemeanor case and if the victims don’t want to press charges, what are they supposed to do? Arrest them says legal analyst Ken Rosenfeld. He argues what he witnessed on the tape is nothing short of felony assault.

Reporter John Lobertini had hoped that he would not have to press charges and that the video evidence would speak for itself. He’s also afraid of the repercussions if he does press charges.

“After the actions of Sunday, I’m not sure that I’m going to be safe if I do press charges,” said Lobertini.

Lost in all this mess is the fact that it stemmed from the murder of 27-year-old Chester Jackson. Police have released surveillance footage of the people suspected of shooting him, and would like your help in finding them. If you do have any info you are asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357, or test a tip to 274637.

Tags: California, fight, Mob, Shooting, Video

25 Comments

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http://www.facebook.com/people/John-House/1011555524 John House

““After the actions of Sunday, I’m not sure that I’m going to be safe if I do press charges,” said Lobertini.”

WTF is he afraid of? Is the Fear of Black People *really* that serious up here in NorCal? Bitchass needs to get up off his pussy ass and help punish fuckers who break the law (no matter WHO they are).
Anonymous

Yes, Mr House is right! It doesn’t really matter that they were journalists stop blowing shit out of proportion, you get assaulted you press charges, geez get over it already.
Summer

Okay, so Lobertini doesn’t want to press charges. Fine. He really didn’t take the majority of this shit anyway. I want to know why the camerawoman isn’t filing charges. I can understand that these mourners didn’t want to be on film, and there was a lot of emotion there that day, but is no excuse for what they did to that woman. You do NOT assault someone just because you don’t appreciate them bothering you. It’s like dealing with a bunch of children.

I sincerely hope that they find those responsible for the death of that 27 year old man. I wonder if the mourners realize that they are overshadowing the investigation that should be their top priority by acting like jackasses. Yes, everyone has a right to mourn, but it is probably best to do so in a private setting while this investigation is going on. It just seems silly to draw attention away from what is most important.
http://infowars.com Domino

attacking the “freedom of information” “a cross to bare” “fears for his safety” oh. please.

um. it was apparent he was approaching that group to get interviews and that’s plain as day by his mannerism – he wasn’t interested in doing a piece in front of the scene, he was interested in getting those people who were MOURNING to talk to him. i mean just watch his slow approach, his gestures, his hesitation…. and then the reaction of people shooing him away. they have a right to REFUSE. and to continue to harass them after they have said NO.

well – i’d have to say you got what you had coming to you.
Anonymous

If you watch the video closely, the chick in green was the one trying to prevent the altercation, trying to protect the camerawoman on the ground, and trying to get the reporter and camera crew to LEAVE after things had already turned physical.

It looks like the chick in gray tries to tell them to leave fairly calmly at the beginning. They refuse, and the guy in purple comes up and shoves the camera because the camerawoman has it literally in gray girl’s face. The chick in white gets in the camerawoman’s face, but it’s all posturing until the bitch in shades (who first makes her appearance at :30) runs up out of nowhere and grabs the camerawoman from behind.

If the reporters had respected these people’s space, this wouldn’t have happened. If the camerawoman hadn’t insisted on sticking her camera in some grieving woman’s face, this wouldn’t have escalated. The reason the chick in green is screaming like a maniac because she was the one acting like a grown up and trying to defuse the situation, while the reporter and camerawoman were hanging around practically begging for trouble. She just wanted them to leave so things wouldn’t get any worse, and they wouldn’t listen.

These people just lost a loved one to violence- of course they’re going to act angry and irrational. But I’ll tell you what- if one of my friends is grieving, and you shove a camera in her face, it won’t be your face I shove that camera into…
Anonymous

If you watch the video closely, the chick in green was the one trying to prevent the altercation, trying to protect the camerawoman on the ground, and trying to get the reporter and camera crew to LEAVE after things had already turned physical.

It looks like the chick in gray tries to tell them to leave fairly calmly at the beginning. They refuse, and the guy in purple comes up and shoves the camera because the camerawoman has it literally in gray girl’s face. The chick in white gets in the camerawoman’s face, but it’s all posturing until the bitch in shades (who first makes her appearance at :30) runs up out of nowhere and grabs the camerawoman from behind.

If the reporters had respected these people’s space, this wouldn’t have happened. If the camerawoman hadn’t insisted on sticking her camera in some grieving woman’s face, this wouldn’t have escalated. The reason the chick in green is screaming like a maniac because she was the one acting like a grown up and trying to defuse the situation, while the reporter and camerawoman were hanging around practically begging for trouble. She just wanted them to leave so things wouldn’t get any worse, and they wouldn’t listen.

These people just lost a loved one to violence- of course they’re going to act angry and irrational. But I’ll tell you what- if one of my friends is grieving, and you shove a camera in her face, it won’t be your face I shove that camera into…
Anonymous

I’m not saying what they did was right, but I do feel you should be able to go to the location where a loved one has just died, and grieve without a camera in your face. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want video of me wailing with mascara running down my face and my eyeballs swollen to be featured on the nightly news.

These reporters acted like douche bags, and sometimes douche bags get pushed around. That’s not right, blah, blah, blah, but excuse me if I can’t dredge up any human sympathy for someone who had none for these mourners.
Anonymous

Isn’t it up to the DA to press charges, and not Lobertini?

This guy is a total pussy. He didn’t even really get hit. I’m surprised when the guy in purple swung at him he didn’t just collapse into a ball and start crying for his mommy. You know if she hadn’t been on the ground he would have been hiding behind the camerawoman.

If anyone should be charged, it’s the black chick in shades who grabs the camerawoman from behind. The guy in purple started out just trying to get the camera out of his friend’s face. I don’t blame him at all, I would have the same reaction if you treated one of my friends like that.

And it’s not a black thing. In my town, something like this would probably be Latinos, but if it were whites, and I was one of them, I have to admit, you would all be calling me an animal, too. I try to be mature and reasonable, and usually succeed (usually ), but catch me when I’m emotionally keyed up and disrespect one of my friends, and you will see a side of Deety that you will really, REALLY wish you hadn’t…
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_D5PKUBLEDATKIOTLCOF3M7KHGI Danielle

This is ridiculous. Why do people have to act like this. If you want to grieve do it in the privacy of your own home. Not in a PUBLIC place. I do not believe that the media need to give them an apology. It just shows what kind of family and friends this murder victim comes from. Disgraceful!!!
Athena

The state can press charges should the victim decline the opportunity, but the state can also decline the opportunity if they believe the victim to be hostile or uncooperative or if they just don’t think they have a good case. Because they believe the incident to qualify as a mere misdemeanor and the perpetrators were mourners and the victim is reluctant to press charges, I can see why they wouldn’t bother.
Anonymous

I know the camera crew had the right to film, but I think it was pretty shitty to disturb mourners. Another example of being an interloper at a funeral is the Westboro Baptist Church.
http://infowars.com Domino

let me tell you something.

when someone dies other than in a hospital or in a home.. there is something in you that drives your ass to go to the scene. it’s something most people HAVE to do.

i can tell you my family trucked our asses to california (we lived in indiana) where my brother died. that’s one fucking hell of a trip – and it’s one fucking hell of a trip that was needed to be made. hell, his body wasn’t even there, we already had him home, and had the funeral. – just to give you an idea how deep the need is to go to the scene.

we had to see everything, with our own eyes. we had to see where the scene started and we had to see where it ended. it was a have. to. do.

and it helped. it stopped a lot of imagining, it stopped a lot of obsessing – which stopped a lot of nightmares. i felt relief contributing to the memorial they had set up. it felt nice – and we were lucky enough to do it without a news crew. – the scene of the crime is very important to recovery.

so instead of berating them for having the nerve to “mourn in a public place” – how about you take a second to wonder WHY they were at the scene of the crime in the first place.

i’m sure they would have loved nothing more than for it to be out in a field in the middle of no-where.
Anonymous

I understand that reporters can be annoying sometimes, but those two were just doing their jobs and that group of people acted like wild animals. They had no right, NO RIGHT to put their hands on that camerawoman and throw her to the ground, and if that woman in the green outfit had clapped in *my* face like that I would’ve screamed in her face as loud as I can for as long as I can. That clapping annoyed me more than anything else in the video.

And as far as what the woman said about “this is private” or some crap…uh, no, it’s not. That group was in a public place so therefore those reporters had every right to be there. Did the group go up and attack random people who happened to walk by their little memorial circle too?

Charges need to be pressed against every single one of those people who even so much as put a finger on those two. This story reminded me of the female reporter who was raped in the middle of a crowd in Egypt recently…members of the media are people too; they’re somebody’s son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister, mother, father, etc and they deserve to be treated with like human beings.
Anonymous

OK, I’ve read the comments and I’d like to add more.

I understand why most would think the reporters were in the wrong here, but seriously, how hard would it have been for the group to call the police and get the reporters away? It’s really sad what happened to the victim, but he died to violence and this group is resorting to violence to get the reporters away?

They can mourn in a pubic place, but due to the nature of how he died it’s not surprising a news crew showed up. Should the reporter have waited until they were finished to try to get interviews from them? Absolutely. But reporters are known to have a pushy reputation and I think calling the police would’ve been the best thing to do here…not take matters into their own hands and let their emotions dictate how to get rid of them.
Anonymous

well said Domino. I have to agree with you on that
http://www.facebook.com/people/John-House/1011555524 John House

Not sayin’ it was a “black thing”, but Fear of Black People (causing the pussy reporter to puss out on asking to press charges/aiding to press charges for his camerawoman at least). It happens every day, even here in Oakland where you would expect to be surrounded by African Americans (my ex, who was white and very European, had a bout with FOBP when she visited). I don’t suffer from it, but sometimes women suffer from Fear of That Possibly Illegal Mexican Guy when I’m walking on the same side of the street as them (LOL, I’m not illegal, but some people think I look Mexican [other times they think Asian, a lot of the times Phillipino])…even though *I* think I present relatively harmless.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OVPJJCE2HB4MDJ4CO6IU2QUUIQ afterb

No charges will be filed. They are a protected species.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_D5PKUBLEDATKIOTLCOF3M7KHGI Danielle

So because they were grieving, that gives them the right to punch and kick another person. I think NOT! I admit that I cannot began to feel the pain they are going through. Losing a loved one is hard enough but to violence is horrible. Two wrongs do not make a right.
http://infowars.com Domino

er… there’s nothing pertaining to THAT in the above paragraph. or in your comment.

nice turn around though – most people would walk right into that and change the subject and get themselves tangled in another argument and lose sight of a valid point – sorry.. but redbull gives you wings.

they have every right to be in public, to deny interviews in public, and to be left alone after they have declined an interview – anything that happened after that was provoked and driven the response was made by people who were mentally unstable at the time.

and like i said don’t overlook the reason why they were in public in the first place.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PKSJ42VBXNAFJLOH54Y3K4KTXU Heather Habilatory

Dumbass is a protected species now?
Anonymous

Did anyone view the footage from the other camera at the scene? It’s here at this site, second video.

http://www.pixiq.com/article/fox-news-crew-attacked-in-sacramento

I’d like to know what was said to the crowd after they attacked the camera woman. The attackers turned their wrath into general concern for her towards the end of the video.
Anonymous

You’re absolutely right, they shouldnt have gotten physical. But if you notice, the other reporters stayed at a respectful distance, across the street. The camerawoman got pushed because she literally had the camera in someone’s face. And the chick in green, annoying as she was acting, was trying to keep the reporters focused on her and AWAY from the people who would likely have beat their asses had they walked back up. The reporters were practically instigating this, and she was the one trying to keep it verbal, not physical.
Anonymous

You’re absolutely right, they shouldnt have gotten physical. But if you notice, the other reporters stayed at a respectful distance, across the street. The camerawoman got pushed because she literally had the camera in someone’s face. And the chick in green, annoying as she was acting, was trying to keep the reporters focused on her and AWAY from the people who would likely have beat their asses had they walked back up. The reporters were practically instigating this, and she was the one trying to keep it verbal, not physical.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_D5PKUBLEDATKIOTLCOF3M7KHGI Danielle

Okay Domino. You win!! You have convinced me that it is okay for people can act like barbarians. END.
Anonymous

Well maybe I’m going to be a little bit biased because I hate Fox News, but these people were in mourning. There family member or friend was just MURDERED. I didn’t see no other news outlets bothering them. It’s one thing for the news crew to be video taping from a distance, but to bother them in that situation is not right. I don’t think physical violence is right at all, but I have seen people tell reporters to leave them alone over and over and they keep on until someone gets pissed. I like how fox news did not show what happened before the altercation so we really don’t know why this actually turned violent. Again, I’m probably biased because I hate fox news, haha.