Media ethics of the release of the Charlotte train murder (09-09-2025--Hour2)

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But remember like this has been going on a while, right, I mean we talked about at the time the bus driver, remember who was murdered, the violence against bus drivers. They were like clamoring for more protection and safety from the cat system. This was a couple of years ago. Remember Tark Bakari, the former Charlotte city councilman made a big deal about getting plexiglass bulletproof glass around the bus drivers, and of course all of the Democrats were like, oh, shut up, you Republican. So there's another there's another aspect to all of this, and I mentioned it in last hour's chat with Andrew Dunn, and it is the decision to release the video. And this gets into journalism ethics. I know, oxymoron, but it gets into a question that newsrooms find themselves grappling with, and hopefully they've got people of different opinions that are arguing for either side, and it is whether or not local media should have released the video from the light railcar that shows the murder. WBTV they released it, but they paused the video before the actual murder, but they showed all of the rest of it and then they do a cutaway and that's the video that went viral over the weekend, which then prompted the national coverage. On the other hand, WSOCTV they opted not to. So here's what Joe Bruno, reporter at WSOCTV, who has done a lot of really good work on this story in the last two and a half weeks, he said, cats released the fatal stabbing video of Arena Zarutzka. I watched it. It is horrifying. I made the call with a small group of managers who watched the clip to not show any video of Arena on the train. This is out of respect to her family who may not have seen the video. The video is graphic, disturbing and incredibly scary. Okay, So first off, what I think they should have done, KATS should have done, is to provide that video to the family first and tell them we have a Freedom of Information Act request from local media. They want this video, It's going to be out there. Do you want a copy of it? Before this thing goes viral? I actually come down on this with the WBTV handling of it. I think they handled that well. I think they they published the whole video except for the actual attack. They stop the video, they pause it just as the attacker to Carlos Brown Junior, you know, takes his arm back, rears back, and then they freeze frame it right, that's and then it goes. It goes from color to black and white, and so I think that was an appropriate way to handle it. So it doesn't show the actual murder, but it shows you everything else around it. Almost they didn't show what happened in the car because obviously there's a camera on the on the the very on the victim, basically where she's sitting, but they we don't ever see the video after he has struck her. We just see him then in a different part of the car, walking up and pacing around, dripping blood. He takes his sweatshirt off, he wraps it around his hand, which is bleeding. He's dropped, he's dripping blood all over the floor. And here's why. At one point in the video he can be heard mumbling, I got that white girl. And I watched the video multiple times and never heard him say it. It was only after somebody on social media pointed this out. I went back to the video and I jacked up the audio levels and he does say it. He says, I got that white girl. Now, he's not telling anybody except whatever voice is in his head. And that's why releasing the video is important because, in Joe Bruno's description, as in all descriptions from any reporter, right, any reporter is going to miss stuff, and they're going to focus on things that some other reporter might not. Okay, That's why you want more people with eyes on it, so you get different reports on what they're seeing. And so if you were to simply rely on a reporter who watches the video and then describes it to you, you don't know what you don't know, You don't know what else is on that video. So Bruno's description was, after watching the video, we have more context than perspective, and then he describes the man in the red sweatshirt is to Carlos Brown. The picture is from right before Zeruska got on board. You can see the train was pretty full. When Zeruzka boarded the train, she sat in the aisle seat in the road directly in front of him. Brown was at the window. Zarutzka wearing headphones. The two had no interaction whatsoever. She was scrolling on her phone the entire ride. Brown and Zerutzka were on the train together for four and a half minutes. To Carlos, Brown showed a little to no emotion on the ride. At times he rested his head on the window, just as Katz said, he looked like any other transit rider see and that also is in my opinion, like I would report that differently because when I was watching it, you could see him muttering to himself. He was It wasn't like he was just sitting there staring out the window. He was out, he's muttering to himself, he's fidgeting around in his chair. And so Joe and I would have a different report on what we're witnessing. And by the way I learned this lesson back in high school, had an English teacher who was trying to show the difference in the way people view things and our perspectives and stuff. And he talked about how one couple of years prior he had had some one of the locals, one of the students in the school, who was a bit of a ruffian, if you will, and he asked him to come in threaten the teacher, mister Umstetter was his name, and threaten mister Umstetter, and you know, complain about a bad grade or something, and threaten him and then leave. And so the kid comes in, he does the performance, and then he leaves, and Umstatter then tells all of his students, please write down what you just saw happen, and I'm going to need it in order to file a report. And so he has the whole class write down what they saw happen, and everybody gave different accounts, right, and that is normal. That's why you want more people with eyes and ears on a situation in this matter. Bruno goes on to say, about a minute or so before the fatal stabbing, we notice a shift. He starts to fidget with his hand, his eyes widen. This stood out because we knew what was about to happen, but it wasn't necessarily something that would seem dangerous in the moment he actually rested his head on the glass again. Just seconds before he took a knife out of his pocket, stood up and immediately stabbed Zarutzka. Immediately after the stabbing, Brown slowly walks towards the front of the train. Another man ran to tell the light rail operator what happened and to stop. About two minutes and five seconds after the stabbing, when the train came to a stop at the East West station, Brown stepped off the train. CMPD arrested him on the platform. It should be noted there were several passengers who rushed to Zarutzka's aim aid which, by the way, like that's part of the video we have not seen. We saw one man take the shirt off his back and attempt CPR. And so that's the description offered by Joe Bruno. But nowhere in that description does he mention the muttering of I got that white girl. And maybe that's why Cash Pttel announced he's the FBI director, that the FBI has been investigating this and this may be a potential hate crime because of those utterances. We shall say. So. When I was a kid, my grandpa died with Alzheimer's, and before he died, my mom and my dad took care of him as he got worse. Forty years ago, there were no treatments and not much support for caregivers and family. But things are different today because of the work of so many people, including the Alzheimer's Association of Western Carolina. It's a great organization with awesome people with huge hearts. I've been a supporter for twenty five years. This cause means a lot to me. I participate in the annual Walk to End Alzheimer's and I'm leading a Charlotte team again this year, and it's called once again Pete's Pack. You can sign up and you can join the team and walk with us. It's on October eighteenth that truest Field sign up at alz dot org slash walk and then you can search for my team name, Pete's Pack. There's also a link at thepetepod dot com. There's also a link in the description of this podcast. Also, I'll be am seeing the Gastonia Walk on October eleventh, and so you can make a team and join that one too, or make a donation and help me hit my goal of five thousand dollars. If you do, I really appreciate it. There are a bunch of other walks all over the Carolinas. You can go to alz dot org slash walk for all the dates and locations. We're closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer's. Can you help us get there? Will you walk with me? For a different future, for families, for more time for treatments. This is why we walk. Got a message here? It's a Pete tweet from Eric who says disgusting but predictable framing from the New York Times, and then there is a yeah, there is a screenshot here of the New York Times post headlined a gruesome murder in North Carolina ignites a firestorm on the right. So, again, as I mentioned yesterday, journalism in rule number two. Right, when a scandal involves a Republican, the story is the scandal. When a scandal involves a Democrat or in this case, democrat policies, Democrat city council, Democrat governor, Democrat attorney general then, or Democrat da Democrat judges, right, then the story isn't the scandal. The story is the Republican reaction to the scandal. And that's why you see words like pouncing and seizing. That's why we joke about it all the time. It's because it's such a rote formula for the media that they always frame these stories as Republicans are pouncing on the scandal or this story. Republicans are seizing on this in order to try to make some political hey, because Democrats never do that, right, Democrats never say, take a school shooting and try to turn it into an argument for gun control. That never happens. Democrats never pounce on that story. Ever. The article Conservatives are mad about the perceived failings of Democratic policies the perceived failings and includes a helpful reference to a white supremacist uprising in Wilmington, North Carolina in eighteen ninety eight, in which at least sixty black men were killed. Yes, that was the Wilmington Riot New York Times. And do you know who did it? Democrats? They murdered blacks and Republicans who had won free and fair elections to take control of the Wilmington City government. And they were murdered by Democrats. Up into a frenzy by the Raleigh News and Observer, who finally one hundred years later apologized for it, for their role in it, here's the same sort of approach I mentioned this last Hour with Andrew Dunn as well this Axios story by Mark Caputo at Axios, but I think he also either worked at or maybe still does some work for Politico. Headline stabbing video fuels magas crime message. So it's right. It's not that it's not that the Republicans are using this to fuel their message. It's that, dang they noticed. How dare you conservatives, you Republicans noticing that our policies suck? Like that's what he's mad about. He's not mad that this deranged, repeat, repeat offender was allowed to walk the streets after a judge said, yeah, he needs a psyche val at the recommendation of the defendant's own defense attorney, a public defender, who said this guy is not competent and needs a psyche val. The judge was like, I quite concur Yes, you're free to go. Now what now, same judge orders a psyche val because we've got to make sure that he's competent to stand trial for the murder, because he can claim insanity. Now not funny how it all works out for him. Computero's piece quote MAGA influencers are drawing repeated attention to violent attacks to elevate the issue of urban crime and accuse mainstream media of undercovering shocking cases. Yes, because it's true. You did not cover this case until the video went viral and all of a sudden, the President of the United States of America starts sh shocking video of the fatal August twenty second knife attack on twenty three year old Arena Zarotzka on a light rail car car in Charlotte, North Carolina dominated weekend conversation on Trump friendly social media. See, so there he is blaming what your lack of coverage on the fact that it's being reported on quote conservative or Trump friendly social media. So because conservatives are talking about something that means you shouldn't. Is it news? That's the first question you in a newsroom need to be asking about a story that is the north Star. Is this news? And it is news? And if you tell me that it's newsworthy to cover the Daniel Penny New York City subway restraining of the crazy guy Jordan Neely and then Neely died and you gave you gave that story all sorts of coverage. Why why, Well, here's the uncomfortable truth. It's that Daniel Penny was white and Jordan Neely was black, and this woman is white and the attacker is black. That's the uncomfortable truth that media outlets don't want to have to acknowledge because it's true. It's true. They don't want to give any evidence to the Trump friendly social media. They don't want to give any breathe, any oxygen to allow this story to breathe, to let other people know about it, because they're afraid of how it's going to be used. Because they view themselves as protectors of some group, some oppressed class of people. And why are they oppressed because of the color of their skin, Because that's how they view people is through the prism of race. That's why they're doing this. That's why they had to be dragged to this story. It's the same thing with the I've made mention of the Kermit Gosnell case where they called it a local crime story. Guy was probably the most prolific serial killer in American history. They didn't want to cover it. Why because abortion right, because the ideology is harmed by acknowledging this true story. So we'll just not cover it. Game on Week one starts now, and every touchdown brings you closer to a payout. With Draft Kings sports Book and official sports betting partner of the NFL, this isn't just football, it's first touchdown fireworks anytime TD rushes live bets that ride every momentum shift a DraftKings, Every play is your next shot to win. Will the Panthers win? Will we even get a touchdown? 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Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction void in Ontario. Bonus bets expire seven days after issuance. See Sportsbook dot DraftKings dot com, slash promos NFL Sunday Ticket offer for new subscribers only and auto renews until canceled. Digital games and commercial use excluded. Restrictions apply additional NFL Sunday Ticket terms or at YouTube dot com slash Go slash NFL Sunday tickets terms limited time offer. The White House has just begun its press briefing, and Caroline Leavitt has started the press conference talking about the Charlotte light rail murder. So I went to c SPAN. Here I rolled it back. We're going to start from the beginning of her press brief. Jujic's for my tardiness today, Thanks for being here. Another packed room. It's good to see. We'll begin with a scheduling update today at Yankee Stadium, and they returned to SKA. Here are the facts that many outlets have shamefully and intentionally failed to report until President Trump drew attention to it. On August twenty second, Arena Zarutska was stabbed to death on the rail system in Charlotte, North Carolina, by a savage career criminal. This is a public transportation system that many in the area use every single day to go to school and work. Arena was on the train that night, traveling home from her job at a pizzeria, still in uniform from her shift. This beautiful, innocent, twenty three year old young woman was a Ukrainian refugee who had recently fled her country for a chance at a safer life and a promising new beginning here in the United States of America. But tragically, a public transportation system in a major American city was more dangerous than the active war zone that she left. The President in the entire White House are praying for her family and friends during this unimaginably difficult time. But while we extend our thoughts in prayers, we must also seek justice for this crime and call attention to this heinous incident. Surveillance video of the killing was finally released to the public this past Friday. It shows the alleged killer, de Carlos Brown Junior, pull out a knife, get up from his seat behind arena, and prepare to thrust a blade into her neck before the released footage gets cut. This is pure evil on full display. The most enraging and unacceptable part of this story is that her death was entirely preventable. Carlos Brown never should have been on that train that night. In fact, he should have been behind bars to Carlos Brown has been charged with crimes no fewer than fourteen times dating back to twenty and eleven, including for armed robbery, felony, larceny, breaking and entering in shoplifting. Brown had previously served five years in prison for a robbery with a deadly weapon charge, and he had also forfeited bonds three different times, twice in twenty fourteen and once in twenty twenty three. Despite all of this past documented criminal history, when Brown was arrested yet again in January of this past year, a Democrat judge, who will I will add was a supporter, a strong supporter of former Vice President Kamala Harris, released this insane criminal once again without requiring him to pay any bail. He simply had to sign a written promise to return for his court hearing. Think about how crazy it is to ask a career criminal, someone who by definition repeatedly breaks the law, to just sign a written promise and come back again another day. This is madness. This monster should have been locked up and Arena should still be alive. But Democrat politicians, liberal judges, and weak prosecutors would rather virtue signal than lock up criminals and protect their communities. And, perhaps most shamefully of all, the majority of the media. Many outlets in this room decided that her murder was not worth reporting on originally because it does not fit a preferred narrative. Many of the journalists in this room spills plenty of ink trying to smear Daniel Penny for defending a subway car from a deranged lunatic in New York City, but none of those same reporters lift a finger to write stories about an actual murderer. Here's the truth that every American must know. Too. Many innocent people across the country continue to pay the price of the failed experiment known as cashless bail that has been championed by the Demo Party for years. All the way back in twenty twenty, North Carolina's then Democrat Governor Roy Cooper established a so called Task Force for Racial Equity and Criminal Justice. Sounds nice, but it's not. That task force was co authored by then Attorney General and current Democrat Governor Josh Stein. It recommended quote reimagining public safety to quote promote diversion and other alternatives to arrest. It also advised to de emphasize some felony crimes, prioritize quote restorative justice, and eliminate cash bail. Democrats in North Carolina and nationwide are consumed with pushing a woke, soft on crime agenda. No matter how many innocent Americans suffer as a result. Instead of aggressively prosecuting and locking up violent criminals, the Democrat backed cashless bail approach lets these criminals roam free in our country to offend again and again. These reckless policies have turned too many many of American cities into hunting grounds for career criminals who mock our justice system, drain law enforcement resources, and recavoc on law abiding citizens. Enough is enough, and that is why President Trump is doing everything in his power by taking action to undo these absurd policies. The President recently signed a powerful executive order directing the AG to submit a list of states in local jurisdictions with cashlest bail policies so that the Trump administration may identify federal funds that can are being provided to these states and can potentially be suspended or terminated. President Trump firmly believes that to maintain order in public safety, we must incarcerate individuals who's pending criminal charges or criminal history demonstrate a clear ongoing risk to civil society. This is a common sense and sensible approach that the vast majority of Americans agree with, and it's time for the Democrat Party to get on board with what is right. When these criminals are caught, they must prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and be sent to prison where they can no longer terrorize our streets. This is the mandate the American people delivered to President Trump, and it's a mandate he intends to fulfill. Staying on the topic of public safety, new preliminary data released today by Customs and Border Protection in August shows that President Trump has delivered the most secure border in American history. For the fourth straight month, zero illegal aliens were released into the United States by CBP. Nationwide encounters are down ninety three percent below the peak of the Biden administration. Border patrol apprehensions on the Southwest border in the entire month of August were less than what was apprehended in four days in August twenty twenty four under the Biden administration. President Trump has ended disastrous Biden illegal alien invasion. He sealed our border in record time, keeping this central promise he made to the American public. With all right, so there's the opening statement from them in the White House, Press Secretary Caroline Levitt, Maybe this Charlotte murder leads to the end of this cashless bail experiment, which has been I think an abject failure at this point. All right, you hear me talk a lot about incentives, right, Well, let's talk about incentive trips, the kind that companies offer employees to fire them up and reward their teams. 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All right, So the press secretary there mentioned that they are looking at potentially withholding funds from the City of Charlotte over these cash lists bail as well as other locations over these policies. And by the way, I'm glad that Caroline Levitt mentioned the twenty twenty what do they call it, the Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice. It was done by Roy Cooper and leading the charge was Josh Stein, then Attorney General now our governor, as well as Anita Earls, who is on our Supreme Court. And I actually I went back and pulled my old copy of the of the executive summary. I have it here. We'll go over some of the things that they've been doing over the last five years, see how they've turned out. We'll do that in the next hour. But let me get back to the withholding of money. The dot Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to withhold federal funding from Charlotte over the stabbing on the light rail line. The FBI director acknowledged that it's been investigating the case from day one. Duffy told Sean Hannity. Quote, Your federal tax dollars go to fund a lot of these transit systems across the country, and we have to look at them and say, well, maybe it's appropriate that we start pulling some of that money back, because I don't think the American taxpayer wants to pay for the homelessness and criminal element that harm twenty three year old girls like this who are going home from work. Right, What are we funding? Right? What are we funding this from? I mentioned this at the beginning of the hour as well. The North Carolina State Auditor Dave Bullock says that he's launching an investigation to focus on public safety aspects of CATS, including but not limited to, private security contracts, metrics and data used by cats, and private security for public safety purposes, and the cat's safety and security budget. Quote. One of the most basic duties a government owes the people is public safety. The recent lawlessness and violence that have taken place on Charlotte's public transportation raised serious questions about the security measures in place. We will investigate CATS and examine its public safety contracts and operations. Charlotte has faced a string of violent incidents recently on public transportation in March, a sixty four year old veteran was attacked on a Cat's bus, and according to his family, he became paralyzed from the neck down as a result of that attack. Months later, in August, a fifty seven year old veteran was hospitalized after being attacked by multiple people on a cat's bus, and then just days after that, a repeat offender previously in prison for robbery with the deadly weapons, stabbed and killed a woman on Charlotte's light rail. He concludes the press release saying Charlotte Mayor Vye Lyles, the Metropolitan Transit Commission leadership, and CATS leadership have been notified of our investigation, which will begin immediately. Additionally, the State Auditor's special report on the City of Charlotte's payment to the chief of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department will be released this week. Remember that one, So we're getting an update on that one this week. It's a banner week in Charlotte. All right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast, So if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here. You can also become a patron at my patreon page or go to the epclenarshow dot com. Again, thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.