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Local TV Reporter Suspended for Giving Opinion About Anti-Police Sentiment In Black Community


July 16, 2014 | Sophie Weiner

TV reporter Sean Bergin was suspended by News 12 Networks after comments he made on-air related to the killing of police officer Melvin Santiago in Jersey City. In the broadcast report, Bergin explained that the news network decided to report on the case in order to “shine a light on this anticop mentality that has so contaminated America’s inner cities.”


At the end of the segment, which focused on the danger police officers face from this hatred of police in urban communities, Bergin added angrily, “The underlying cause for all of this, of course: Young black men growing up without fathers. Unfortunately, no one in the news media has the courage to touch that subject.”

His assessment didn’t go over well with station owners who responded that “It is News 12’s policy that reporters must be objective and not state personal opinions on-air.” Bergin was suspended from the station for two days and will have reduced hours in the future for violating company policy.

Meanwhile, police officers in Jersey City have dismantled a memorial put up at the site of the killing for shooter Lawrence Campbell, who they called a “murdering coward.” 

“We aren’t going to let a small group of residents act like they publicly portray the sentiment of the city at large,” Mayor Steve Fulop told the Daily News(Photo: dfirecop)