Russia's Channel One TV Crew Attacked In US' Philadelphia, Cameraman Suffers Concussion

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th October, 2020) Russia's Channel One tv crew has been attacked in the US city of Philadelphia, the broadcaster's correspondent Georgy Olisashvili told Sputnik, adding that the cameraman had suffered a concussion.

According to Olisashvili, the police did not provide any assistance.

The crew, consisting of the correspondent and the cameraman, Maxim Kataev, were filming the consequences of looting in Philadelphia amid resumed violence following the fatal shooting of another black man.

"We decided that we were leaving when there were more people around. We turned around to leave, and at that moment we saw some very aggressively-looking guys approaching us. We rushed to the car, realizing their clear intentions," Olisashvili said.

Once in the car, the journalists did not have enough time to block the doors.

"They started opening doors from all sides. I pushed from my side and when I turned around, Max's camera was already snatched from his hands. ... We also had a bag with equipment in the backseat. I tried to push the person who was reaching for the bag. At that moment another person climbed from the driver's side and grabbed the phone," Olisaishvili noted.

The cameraman then ran into the crowd to reclaim the camera, which according to the Russian correspondent was not a rational thing to do.

"There were a lot more of them, they could do whatever they wanted. All this happened so quickly. I shouted: 'Let's get into the car.' He [Kataev] was hit six times in the head and neck area.

He has a severe hematoma on his temple, I think, that's how he got the concussion," the journalist said.

Olisashvili went on to say that they stopped the police patrol right away and informed the officers of what had happened, however, they refused to go to the scene and advised contacting 911.

"We wanted to go back with the police because those guys were obviously still there, so I said: 'We just got mugged two blocks away,' and they said: ' No, no, no. We are off,'" Olisashvili said.

According to him, he called 911, and half an hour later another patrol arrived.

"They sympathized with us but said that there were no chances [of going back]. They offered to escort us to the police station to file complaint. But when I asked again to go to the place of attack, they said: 'No, it's too dangerous there," the correspondent noted.

When the Russian journalists arrived at the station, the police refused to act after learning that the two men were not business owners affected by looters.

"The [police] questionnaire was mostly carried out by phone when we were already on our way to New York," Olisashvili concluded.

On Monday, riots broke out in Philadelphia after police officers shot dead Walter Wallace Jr. who approached them while holding a knife despite being ordered to stop and drop the weapon. The rioting continued in the following days and spilled over to New York City. Some 30 police officers were injured in the riots and numerous businesses damaged and looted.