WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT JoDon Romero, 33, committed suicide on live television after a police pursuit in the US state of Arizona – his partner and children were watching at home
A mother and her children were subjected to the traumatic experience of witnessing her partner and their father take his own life on live television.
JoDon Romero, 33, was embroiled in a lengthy police pursuit in September 2013, in Arizona in the US, which Fox News broadcast live as it happened. As law enforcement closed in, Romero tragically chose to end his life.
Back in 2022, another father from Bolton in Greater Manchester, Paul David Hilton, also ended his life by suicide and live-streamed it on Facebook.
Angela Rodriguez, JoDon Romero’s partner and mother to their children, aged nine, 13, and 15, was watching at home with the youngsters when the distressing scene aired.
She subsequently filed a lawsuit claiming that the children endured severe emotional and psychological trauma from witnessing their father’s shocking death.
The BBC reported the mother of three alleged infliction of emotional distress, reports the Express.
Fox News had been tracking the chase with a live helicopter feed and inadvertently showed the suicide on air. After returning from a commercial break, the news anchor issued an apology, saying: “We really messed up, and we’re all very sorry.”
A Fox News executive later expressed regret for the incident, attributing it to “severe human error” after broadcasting the slightly delayed live footage of the suicide.
The network has since apologised for the “severe human error” that resulted in broadcasting the fatal incident.
On September 28, 2013, Romero died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head following an hour-long car chase, which began with him carjacking a vehicle at gunpoint, while a news helicopter captured the event from above. Police stated that he had an extensive criminal record and was sought for parole violations.
Rodriquez’s lawsuit against Fox News Channel and its parent company News Corp claims on the day in question, Romero’s children heard schoolyard whispers about a live televised suicide. They returned home and sought out the footage on YouTube, only to discover it was their father they were watching.
Rodriguez says her children “have been, and continue to be, severely traumatised” by the video and have exhibited signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, such as flashbacks and disrupted sleep.
Phoenix police reported the man who seemingly shot himself on live TV was being pursued by officers following a carjacking of a 2008 Dodge Caliber.
Officers recounted that the man had stolen the car at gunpoint in west Phoenix around 11:00am local time and was trailed through city streets and a state highway.
The man fired shots at officers and a police helicopter during the chase, but no other injuries were reported, according to Police spokesman Sergeant Tommy Thompson.
He confirmed the man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after ditching the car on a dirt road.
American Fox News said: “We took every precaution to avoid any such live incident by putting the helicopter pictures on a five-second delay.
“Unfortunately, this mistake was the result of a severe human error and we apologise for what viewers ultimately saw on the screen.”
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