Fox News reporter worries that 'typical bad guy' terrorists will escape if skin colour is covered
The comments were made in a discussion about arming police like soldiers
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Fox News reporter responded to suggestions that police should be militarised to deal with attacks in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo murders by asking whether terrorists could be identified if the colour of their skin was not visible.
Shannon Bream, the Supreme Court reporter for the US news channel, voiced her concerns that suspects of criminal acts in the name of religion would not be caught if their ethnicity was covered by balaclavas or other garments.
She made the comments during a live discussion with four members of a Fox News panel after 12 people were murdered during an attack on the offices of the satirical magazine in Paris on Wednesday.
Gun suspects Said and Cherif Kouachi, brothers who are reported to have been born in France to Algerian immigrant parents before becoming orphans, are allegedly on the run from police in a widespread manhunt across northern parts of the country.
Bream said: “If we know they were speaking unaccented French and they had ski masks on, do we even know what colour they were or what the tone of their skin was?
“I mean, what if they didn’t look like typical bad guys, as we define them when we think about terror groups?”
Prior to her insinuation that “typical” terror suspects look a certain way and have a distinct skin tone that would single them out in a crowd, co-host Kennedy Montgomery said that she believed that “sometimes bad guys don’t look like bad guys.”
Bolling said: “Right after 9/11, the New York City cops would do shows of force. Heavily armed cops would walk around buildings, they would show up anywhere.
“Twelve cop cars would line up and get out with their full-body gear and machine guns just to show the bad guys they’re there. That’s kinda gone away. Maybe it’s time to bring it back.”
Montgomery replied: “There has to be a difference, there has to be a line. Your police department should not look like your armed forces. I don’t want cops walking around heavily armed.”
After accusing him of wanting to live in a police state, Montgomery then suggests that another potential solution to deal with rampant murderers is for Americans to arm themselves.
Bolling responded: “Me too!”
The pair concluded the discussion by high-fiving live on-air.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments