KGO News Producer Fired Over Tweet Suggesting Police Use 'Real Bullets' On Oakland Protesters
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- A freelance producer at KGO-TV was given the pink slip after he tweeted a message Saturday suggesting police shoot Oakland protesters.
"A freelancer sent inappropriate tweets from his personal account that in no way reflect the views of ABC7," KGO-TV, San Francisco's ABC station, said in a statement Sunday. "This freelancer is no longer associated with the station."
Former KGO-TV employee and journalism industry blogger Matthew Keys captured a screen shot of the tweet sent by Carlos La Roche from his now-deleted account @producerlos.
La Roche tweeted that police should use "real bullets" on demonstrators who were protesting a law Saturday that requires marches to be permitted, limited to sidewalks and take place before dark.
Keys points out La Roche's history of tweeting provocative messages about Oakland demonstrators. One tweet asked Oakland police if it could be "open season on the protesters." Another tweet sent by La Roche in November suggested recruiting Ferguson police "to put down those animals in Oakland."
La Roche confirmed his firing to Keys in an e-mail and apologized for his comments.
"In the past, I have been frustrated with the violence that has followed peaceful protests in the city of Oakland," La Roche told Keys. "I have expressed my frustration by tweeting inflammatory things directed at those violent individuals. Those tweets were inexcusable and do not reflect my true beliefs about their cause."
Several people were detained during protests in Oakland Sunday night, following clashes with police out in force on orders that violence and vandalism would not be tolerated. Police said officers used force in two instances but did not describe the tactics officers used.
