Just happened on a high-speed pursuit on a local TV station — a "suspect" fleeing from cops through the streets of Wilmington and Long Beach. I'm not sure why he's a "suspect" when we're watching the guy driving at 100 MPH through city streets, endangering people and refusing to stop. What are the chances of this person not being guilty of something?
KABC, Channel 7, covered it all live with two helicopters, one of which was equipped with what they're calling "Air7HD," which is high definition television broadcast from a helicopter. I haven't gotten around to upgrading to high-def yet but when I do, it will not be because I'm eager to see police chases in clearer detail.
When I happen on one of these, I am alternately repulsed by the Gawking Onlooker mentality of watching the spectacle…and unable to turn away. I'm also amused by the usual inability of the local TV newsfolks to ad-lib anything of substance, especially as a chase goes on and on and on, and no one's quite sure where they are or when it all might end. This one seems to have been televised for around forty minutes…and I guess it's nice to know that for that period of time, there wasn't anything more important in the world to report on than one nutjob driving wildly down Pacific Coast Highway.
I also wonder what's on the driver's mind. Has anyone ever debriefed enough of these "suspects" to make a survey? How many of them really think they're going to get away? How many realize they're on television with umpteen choppers tracking them? Are any of them thinking that's it just a big, colorful last moment for them in the spotlight before prison so they might as well put on a little show? Or are they just so incapable of coherent thought that they don't realize how little chance they have of not getting away and how high a chance there is of getting killed? Most importantly, where can I buy a set of spike-strips? I think it would be great to lay them down at the exits to my panels at the San Diego Con. That would sure stop a lot of people from leaving.
At the end of this particular chase, the "suspect" pulled into a fast food store parking lot, bolted from the car with a gun in hand and got shot. An airborne reporter acted like this possibility had never entered anyone's mind and he began telling his cameraguy to "Pull out, pull out"…which the camera operator eventually did. But he sure took his sweet time about it, and it felt deliberate — like the idea here was to show the violence but to act like they were trying not to. Moments after every viewer had seen a man shot on live television, the reporter was apologizing that it had been broadcast and he actually said, with the man lying motionless on the ground, "If you have small children, this might be a good time to have them leave the room." Uh, yeah…so they could miss when the camera finally pulled back enough to not show the body. (When I turned it off, it appeared the shots were not fatal.)
People, we're told, like these televised incidents because they're so "real." I guess that's why it jarred me that it ended on such a phony note. We're watching a man fleeing from the police. They're describing him over and over — because they don't have a whole lot to say — as "desperate" and "armed" and "dangerous." Why is anyone then surprised that there is live gunfire? If it broke out in the middle of the Santa Claus Lane Parade, fine. But if the TV station really doesn't want to show someone getting shot, they can put the thing on a seven-second delay. They can get all the stations in town to agree to it so if viewers channel-hop, no one's outta sync or has any advantage. Personally, I think it's more honest to just show the thing, gunplay and all, and not to pretend it was unintentional. If people complain, remind them: It's a police chase. There are armed police officers and armed criminals. If you watch it, don't be shocked at the ending. That's how these things sometimes turn out, remember?