Children watch in horror as dad takes own life in live TV police chase
WARNING DISTRESSING CONTENT: JoDon Romero, 33, took his own life after leading police on a chase live on TV, the man's partner and children saw the suicide
The chase ended tragically
(Image: Getty)
A mother and her children were subjected to the traumatic experience of watching her partner and their father take his own life on live television.
JoDon Romero, 33, from Arizona in the US, was involved in a lengthy police pursuit in September 2013, which was broadcast live by Fox News. As law enforcement closed in, Romero tragically decided to end his life.
Angela Rodriguez, JoDon Romero's partner and the mother of their children, watched the distressing scene at home with their three kids, aged nine, 13, and 15.
Following the shocking broadcast, she filed a lawsuit claiming the children suffered severe emotional and psychological trauma from witnessing their father's death.
The mother of three alleged infliction of emotional distress, as reported by the BBC, reports the Express.
Fox News had been covering the chase with a live helicopter feed and inadvertently showed the suicide. After returning from a commercial break, the news anchor issued an apology, stating: "We really messed up, and we're all very sorry."
A Fox News executive also expressed regret for the incident, attributing it to "severe human error" after the slightly delayed live suicide was aired.
Fox News has apologised for the broadcast, putting it down to 'human error'
(Image: Fox News)
The network has since apologised for the "severe human error" that resulted in the airing of the fatal incident.
On September 28, 2013, Romero fatally shot himself in the head after an hour-long car chase, which began with him stealing a vehicle at gunpoint, while a news helicopter captured the event. Police stated he had an extensive criminal record and was sought for parole violations.
Rodriquez's lawsuit against Fox News Channel and its parent company, News Corp, alleges that on the day in question, Romero's children heard school rumours about a suicide broadcast live on television. They returned home and searched for the footage on YouTube, only to discover it was their father while viewing.
Rodriguez claims her children "have been, and continue to be, severely traumatised" by the footage, exhibiting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, including flashbacks and sleep disturbances.
Phoenix police reported the man who appeared to shoot himself on live TV was being pursued by officers following a carjacking of a 2008 Dodge Caliber.
Officers stated that the man had taken the car at gunpoint in west Phoenix around 11:00am local time and was tracked through city streets and a state highway.
The man fired at officers and a police helicopter at one point during the chase, but no other injuries were reported, according to Police spokesman Sergeant Tommy Thompson.
He confirmed that the man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after abandoning the car on a dirt road.
American Fox News said: "We took every precaution to avoid any such live incident by putting the helicopter pictures on a five-second delay.
"Unfortunately, this mistake was the result of a severe human error and we apologise for what viewers ultimately saw on the screen."
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