News Viewers See Man’s Troubling Act to Lady in Wheelchair on Live TV–And He’s Served Swift Justice

It’s not too often that the media itself becomes part of the news cycle.

That’s exactly what happened on Monday, though, during a live broadcast with 12 News reporter Joe Dana.

Dana was covering the trial of a local Arizona man, when viewers suddenly became witnesses to a disturbing sight and wasted no time alerting the station — and police — to what they had just seen:

@12News @JoeDanaReports did you see what that man did to that lady? http://bit.ly/2a8ACUw

— Tara (@TaraM987) July 12, 2016

In the middle of Dana’s segment, an older man pushing a woman in a wheelchair entered into the camera’s view and stopped directly behind the reporter.

After appearing to reposition his companion in her chair, the man — later identified as Randall Burgess — suddenly reached down and struck her on the side of the head.

Dana — who had his back turned to the pair — was unaware of what had happened. Both the newsroom and the local police department, however, were quickly flooded with calls from concerned viewers:

Uh, @JoeDanaReports what the heck was going on behind you?! Woman in a wheel just got slapped. #12news http://pic.twitter.com/wxrkUfqM68

— Rich Morris (@Rich_Morris) July 12, 2016

Thanks to some alert citizens, 12 News was able provide an update on the situation within minutes:

At that point, Dana — still at the scene — was quickly informed about what had just happened. Using the video of his own broadcast as evidence, he was able to notify nearby police officers about the abusive treatment.

Those officers quickly apprehended Burgess, only to discover that both he and his companion were incoherent and showing signs of intoxication.

After discerning that the man and woman were in some type of relationship, they placed the 60-year-old Burgess under arrest, charging him with misdemeanor assault.

During my 6pm live report, a man was seen in background slapping a wheelchair-bound woman. PD arrested him. #12newshttp://bit.ly/2a8AAfB

— JOE DANA (@JoeDanaReports) July 12, 2016

As it turned out, Burgess had a history of breaking the law, including probation violations, disorderly conduct, aggravated assault, and felony resisting arrest.

Disturbingly, cameras also recorded Burgess shouting “I’ll get you,” at the wheelchair-bound woman as he was being led away in handcuffs. Afterwards, police escorted the woman back to her apartment.

It may have had an unlikely start, but this is one situation where justice was quickly served — all thanks to a concerned public and one man’s very ill-advised actions in front of a live TV camera.

The post News Viewers See Man’s Troubling Act to Lady in Wheelchair on Live TV–And He’s Served Swift Justice appeared first on Independent Journal Review.

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The post News Viewers See Man’s Troubling Act to Lady in Wheelchair on Live TV–And He’s Served Swift Justice appeared first on .@tonygreene113.