The Wednesday editions of the CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News failed to cover the latest attack on law enforcement as a man charged at a female New York City police officer with a hammer before being shot by a fellow officer.
The attack, which took place Wednesday morning in Midtown Manhattan, was all captured on surveillance video as the NYPD had previously been looking for the individual after having been involved in a number of previous attacks.
While CBS and NBC ignored this story, ABC’s World News Tonight did cover it and did so with a full report from correspondent Linsey Davis. Anchor David Muir set the scene by describing it as “a moment of horror on the streets of New York City” at “a street corner full of tourists.”
Reporting from the scene, Davis began by summarizing what happened:
Surveillance video capturing the moment, a man wielding a hammer runs after a female New York City police officer right into a busy intersection, hitting her several times. Her partner shooting the suspect. Tonight, credited with possibly saving her life.
Following clips of amateur video from bystanders, Davis brought up how law enforcement “had been on the lookout for the 30-year-old allegedly involved in at least four hammer attacks in Manhattan on Monday.”
When he was spotted by two officers and moved toward him, Davis added that it was then that “the suspect immediately pulled out his hammer” and swung at one of the officers.
Closing out the one-minute-and-16-second segment, Davis provided the latest information on the condition of the suspect and the officer who was attacked:
Police say the suspect, known for a history of psychological problems, has at least eight prior arrests. That suspect is now in critical but stable condition at the hospital. As for the female officer, she sustained injuries to her back and back of her head.
While CBS and NBC neglected to give any time to this attack, the two have shown plenty of interest in giving airtime to allegations of police misconduct. As the Media Research Center’s Mike Ciandella reported on May 7, the “big three” of ABC, CBS, and NBC devoted a whopping 223 minutes during their evening newscasts in April to such instances involving questionable transgressions carried out by police.
The transcript of the segment from ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir on 13 can be found below.
ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir
May 13, 2015
6:40 p.m. Eastern
DAVID MUIR: But we do move on now, and to a moment of horror on the streets of New York City, a street corner full of tourists today. The suspect swinging a hammer, attacking a female police officer, all in broad daylight. ABC's Linsey Davis in New York tonight.
NYPD OFFICER: Clear the sidewalk!
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Chaos on the Street; Police Shoot Man Wielding Hammer[
LINSEY DAVIS: It all happened so fast. Surveillance video capturing the moment, a man wielding a hammer runs after a female New York City police officer right into a busy intersection, hitting her several times. Her partner shooting the suspect. Tonight, credited with possibly saving her life.
BYSTANDER ERIC ALTESLEBEN: I just saw a guy get shot.
DAVIS: Innocent bystanders instantly made eyewitnesses in the heart of midtown Manhattan in the middle of the day.
NYPD OFFICER: We have a perp down.
DAVIS: Police had been on the lookout for the 30-year-old allegedly involved in at least four hammer attacks in Manhattan on Monday. When these two officers recognized and then confronted him, police say the suspect immediately pulled out this hammer.
NYPD COMMISSIONER BILL BRATTON: He violently attacked them, unprovoked.
DAVIS: Police say the suspect, known for a history of psychological problems, has at least eight prior arrests. That suspect is now in critical but stable condition at the hospital. As for the female officer, she sustained injuries to her back and back of her head. David?
MUIR: Linsey, thank you.
