You might remember this story from last September, when a Phoenix-area man’s post-police-chase suicide was caught on camera by KSAZ, the local Fox affiliate, and broadcast nationally by Fox News.
Now, the three children of the suspect-turned-suicide are suing Fox News for emotional distress from watching their dad commit suicide.
In a lawsuit filed in Phoenix, Ariz., earlier this month, the three children of JoDon Romero, ages 9, 13, and 15, claim they have suffered emotional distress after watching a clip of the video posted to the internet.
The two older children claim that since watching the video, they have been unable to attend school and suffer flashbacks, “sleep disturbance and obtrusive thoughts,” according to the lawsuit.
Romero, 32, is alleged to have carjacked a vehicle and led police on high speed chase in which he shot at squad cars and the television helicopter that pursued him. Fox broadcast the chase live, without a delay, on Sept 28, 2012 during “Studio B with Shepard Smith,” including the dramatic final moments in which Romero exited his vehicle, drew a gun, and shot himself in the head.
According to the suit, rumors that an unnamed man could be seen killing himself began circulating in the schools of Romero’s two older children, high school student JoDon Jr, and his middle school brother Frank.“After school, the older boys went home and began looking for the suicide on the internet,” according to the suit.
They found the video on YouTube and “as they watched, they realized in horror that they were watching their father.”
Now, I’m not sure what the biggest problem here is: that Fox News accidentally showed the death of a man of live television in search of car-chase-footage ratings; or that these kids happened to find footage of their father shooting himself in the head as they looked for footage of a man shooting himself in the head.
Fox News screwed up — they admitted as much immediately after the fact, having apparently put the wrong video feed on a five-second delay — and they claim to have taken steps to never do that again. Time will tell, as there’s bound to be another person shooting themselves on camera at some point in the future.
But what bothers me the most is that these kids are suing Fox News for putting up coverage that they themselves searched out on the Internet.
It’s true that we, as a society, need to protect our children — but at the risk of sounding heartless, I’m not certain that Fox News should be held liable for covering a news event simply because these children searched for ripped footage of a man killing himself after a dangerous, high-speed car chase and found their father.
[h/t: Paleofuture]
This article appears in Jun 20-26, 2013.
Thank you for your insight. I have always wondered how a loose cannon like Mark Latham was made leader and now it is explained, the old payback.
What small minded people, hate makes of us all.
And as for Latham, here was a man who called George W. the worst president ever ( he was right there) and then knocked people over in the stampede to shake his hand.
Obviously a man of no substance which explains his weathervane approach to policies.
However, as a political commentator I find Mark both refreshing and entertaining. A candid breath of fresh air who, because of his perceived ill-treatment by the ALP, is even-handed in his commentary, unlike the hacks like Kroger, Reith and Costello who just read from the prayer book and spout propoganda, thus dismissing their own credibility of argument.
I, too, hate to sound heartless but this is just another attempted money grab. I saw the footage as it aired on tv and could barely tell what I was seeing. I’m sorry that these kids lost their father but remember, he is solely to blame. If they are so traumatized after seeking out and watching this video, they would probably benefit from counseling.
I just don’t see the merit of a lawsuit.
Looking for someone to blame does not heal the wounds…these kids obviously need counseling. Let’s get more people into treatment before the commit such chaos in our society. The sins of the father are not something these boys need to feel guilty for or suffer anymore than they are already suffering. I hope they are able to recieve the support that is needed to heal from such a tragedy. We may never know what drove this man to act out as he did, however, it is not the fault of the survivors.
Suicide is one of the most underestimated community health problems in the world. In any year, approximately 6% of the entire population has serious thoughts of suicide. The loss in potential productivity is staggering. The legacy of suicide is often a lifetime of grief, sadness, anger and confusion. These boys need help to deal with their issues. Maybe the school could help them to recieve these services. The ideal in suicide intervention is to recognize the presence of suicidal thoughts early and prevent suicidal behavior from happening. There are theories that show ways to transform suicide risk into a life-changing and life-embracing process. Silence and secrecy are the allies of suicide. Talk and openness are the keys to a life-assisting community.
Try looking into LivingWorks Education Inc.