Greg Gutfeld, a prominent figure on Fox News, has criticized Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge for her handling of a recent street brawl that has since gone viral.
Gutfeld accused Theetge of failing to provide a comprehensive account of the incident, despite her claims that the circulated videos did not fully represent the situation.
The incident in question occurred on Saturday at the intersection of Elm and Fourth Streets, where a chaotic street fight broke out, leading to five individuals being charged. Gutfeld, while discussing Theetge's remarks on "The Five," challenged the selective application of context, arguing that it seemed to only matter in "one direction."
According to the Daily Caller, Gutfeld expressed his frustration with Theetge's comments, saying, I used to think that New York was the city of the free punch, where somebody could walk up, slam their fist in your head, and then theyd be released an hour later. The police chief said [she] was upset about this, the smartphone [recordings], saying that Oh, youre not getting the whole story.' He continued, She said, You dont know the context of what happened.'
Gutfeld argued that if Theetge was going to challenge the authenticity of the video footage, she should provide a clear explanation of the real situation. She should have told us what the context is. If youre going to say that what were seeing isnt real, then tell us what is real, Gutfeld said. You cant just say, Oh, my God, this is terrible. Social media makes everything worse. We know that, but its interesting how the argument of context only goes in one direction.
During a press conference on Monday, Theetge stated that officers arrived at the scene six minutes after the first 911 call, which was made around 3:06 a.m. She criticized social media and "mainstream" journalists for allegedly misrepresenting the incident, making it "more difficult" for officers to manage the situation.
Gutfeld drew parallels between this incident and others, such as the case of Marine veteran Daniel Penny, who was accused of manslaughter after restraining a man acting erratically on a New York City subway. He also mentioned the Covington kids and George Floyd cases, suggesting that context was ignored in these instances as well.
The viral video footage shows a large fight in Cincinnati's streets, reportedly sparked by a man who appeared intoxicated and made racial comments, as reported by FOX19. The video depicts a man being knocked to the ground and stomped on by three others, with additional fights breaking out and concluding with a woman appearing to be knocked unconscious.
Theetge anticipates more charges to be filed, as approximately "100 people" witnessed the assault. However, only five individuals have been charged so far. Gutfeld's critique of Theetge's handling of the situation underscores the ongoing debate about the role of context in interpreting and reporting on incidents of violence.
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