I'm surprised that this story hasn't received any attention in this forum, but an August 17 story from 12 News reporter Bryan West about an Arizona Confederate Memorial being vandalized just doesn't seem to add up, according to the Phoenix New Times.
West reported arriving at the site of a Confederate memorial and seeing a man on a bicycle leaving the scene, then finding the memorial vandalized. Surveillance video from Wesley Bolin Plaza shows a different story. The man on the bicycle arrived on scene seconds before the 12 News van, then with the van's headlights illuminating the back of the memorial, the man rides up to the memorial and proceeds to spray paint the front of it, seemingly unconcerned that there is a news van parked there shining its headlights on the scene. At one time, the man even walks around the back of the memorial, fully exposed in the van's headlights. When he finishes, he leaves the scene, passing by the news van. Soon afterward, the 12 News camera man walks to the front of the memorial and sets up the tripod and the camera, then goes back and gets West. Neither man's body language suggests surprise at what they'd found, but neither man claims to have seen what happened.
I've never been a fan of the New Times, but they may have caught 12 News being less than honest with the public. Watch the videos, especially the 10-minute clip at the top, and judge for yourself.
West reported arriving at the site of a Confederate memorial and seeing a man on a bicycle leaving the scene, then finding the memorial vandalized. Surveillance video from Wesley Bolin Plaza shows a different story. The man on the bicycle arrived on scene seconds before the 12 News van, then with the van's headlights illuminating the back of the memorial, the man rides up to the memorial and proceeds to spray paint the front of it, seemingly unconcerned that there is a news van parked there shining its headlights on the scene. At one time, the man even walks around the back of the memorial, fully exposed in the van's headlights. When he finishes, he leaves the scene, passing by the news van. Soon afterward, the 12 News camera man walks to the front of the memorial and sets up the tripod and the camera, then goes back and gets West. Neither man's body language suggests surprise at what they'd found, but neither man claims to have seen what happened.
I've never been a fan of the New Times, but they may have caught 12 News being less than honest with the public. Watch the videos, especially the 10-minute clip at the top, and judge for yourself.