Members of the New York Police Department might be interested to learn that one of the broadcast networks they help to protect doesn’t seem to care about the wellbeing of their fellow officers. While most of America was horrified to see the viral video of a pack of criminal illegal immigrants attacking two NYPD officers this week, CBS was completely uninterested. Neither of their flagship morning and evening newscasts (CBS Mornings and CBS Evening News) dedicated a full report to the story.
Instead of putting a spotlight on how the border crisis led to two officers getting attacked in their own backyard, CBS Mornings did multiple reports on the upcoming Grammies during their Friday show. And on Tuesday, CBS Evening News whined about Republicans trying to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his role in the border crisis.
NBC’s Today show dedicated a 37-second news brief to the story on Thursday. Co-anchor Craig Melvin called it “a shocking act of violence that was caught on camera in the heart of Times Square.” Along with showing the video, Melvin also noted that many of the attackers had escaped and those who were arrested were released:
Police right here as you can see, trying to break up a group of young men outside a migrant shelter Saturday night. At one point the men start pushing and kicking two of the officers who suffered minor injuries. Five suspects were eventually arrested on felony charges. A manhunt still underway for seven others. All of those arrested were staying at the shelter and were released without bail.
“When asked if the asylum seekers should be deported New York Governor Kathy Hochul said it is something that should be looked at,” he concluded.
The next day, they rolled the attack into a broader story about a bipartisan immigration deal in the Senate. Correspondent Stephanie Gosk reported on the “growing firestorm after this dramatic attack on NYPD officers some of the suspects migrants, according to police.”
She disclosed that “several of the suspects have arrest records since coming to the U.S.” But despite the fact that all of them were known to be illegal immigrants and it was speculated that those who weren’t arrested were trying to flee back to Mexico, Gosk claimed: “NBC news has not been able to confirm their immigration status.”
Over on ABC’s World News Tonight, anchor David Muir was calling the attackers “asylum seekers.” “Here in New York City, authorities are investigating the attack on two NYPD officers in Times Square. They believe many of the suspects were asylum seekers,” he announced.
ABC senior investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky did play a soundbite of New York Governor Kathy Hochul saying deportation should be considered. “I think that's absolutely something that should be looked at. I mean, if someone commits a crime against a police officer in the State of New York, and they're not here legally, definitely worth checking into,” she said at a press conference.
“The city is already struggling to cope with a surge in migrants sent from the southern border. In the last two years, nearly 200,000 have arrived. A third remain in city shelters,” Katersky lamented.
