A veteran police officer and father of two from Tulsa, Okla., died after being shot early Monday morning during a routine traffic stop -- but the evening newscasts on ABC, NBC and CBS didn’t find it newsworthy.
The department announced Sgt. Craig Johnson’s death on Tuesday afternoon, Fox 25 first reported.
NBC’s “Nightly News” and “ABC World News Tonight” ignored the story, according to the Media Research Center, while CBS News mentioned the shooting but didn’t follow up after Johnson died.
“Though Monday's ‘CBS Evening News’ was the only broadcast newscast to report on their hospitalization, neither they nor ABC, or NBC informed their viewers about Sgt. Johnson’s passing,” Media Research Center news analyst Nicholas Fondacaro wrote late Tuesday night.
“Proving that the shooting warranted national attention, CBS fill-in anchor Major Garrett delivered a meager 16-second news brief on Monday,” Fondacaro added. “But the incident was never mentioned again, even after one of the officers had died and the other was still in critical condition.”
ABC News, NBC News and CBS News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Johnson is survived by his wife, two young children and his parents.
“He also leaves behind a bunch of brothers and sisters," Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin said, referring to Johnson's fellow officers.
Officer Aurash Zarkeshan, who was also shot during the incident, had reportedly been out on patrol for less than six weeks. His wounds have not become fatal.
Police arrested the suspect and identified him as David Anthony Ware, 32. His alleged accomplice, Matt Hall, 29, was also taken into custody.
“I want to thank the Johnson family for sharing Sgt. Craig Johnson with us, for allowing him to be a part of our department, and for allowing him to serve this community,” the chief added.
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Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, a Republican, championed Johnson as a hero and quoted Scripture to honor his self-sacrifice.
"In this moment of terrible loss for our city, I can’t help but think of John Chapter 15, Verse 13. 'No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friend.' Sgt. Craig Johnson lost his life protecting the lives of every Tulsan," Bynum said.
Body camera footage showed Ware arguing with the police after he was pulled over for expired paper tags, KTUL reported. Ware refused to exit the vehicle after he was informed that the car would likely be towed.
The encounter escalated from there before one of the officers tried to tase Ware. Ware was able to pull out the taser prongs, however, and continued to be belligerent. One of the officers then used pepper spray to subdue him, but Ware remained defiant.
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After the officers tried to forcibly remove him from the car, he retrieved a gun from under his seat and began firing at them. Both men were shot several times, according to the arrest affidavit.
Ware finally stepped out of the vehicle and fired three more shots as he stood over the wounded policemen.
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