CHICAGO (WLS) — Authorities in Chicago have disclosed that charges have been filed against three men following an incident involving a CBS2 Chicago news team near the Adler Planetarium. The men allegedly attempted to provoke a dog to attack the crew while hurling racial insults, as per the police announcement on Wednesday.
The video in the player above is from a previous report.
According to police reports, several men disembarked from a white vehicle and unleashed a dog in the direction of the news team’s photographer and reporter. The altercation occurred as they prepared for a live broadcast at 4 p.m. on Monday, during which the suspects also directed racial slurs at the journalists.
Police confirmed on Tuesday that they had interrogated three individuals regarded as persons of interest in the case.
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The individuals charged have been identified as William Huerta, aged 41 from Chicago Ridge, Rafael Salinas, 29, based in Chicago, and Jon Twist, 37, also from Chicago. Each of them is facing multiple charges, according to police sources.
Twist’s charges include hate crime and criminal damage to property, CPD said. Huerta and Salinas are facing several other charges, including aggravated battery and assault.
When the dog did not attack on Monday, police said one of the men became angry and threw the crew’s camera equipment to the ground. Another man then smashed the windshield of the CBS2 Chicago live truck, police said.
The news photographer and reporter were not injured.
CBS2 Chicago addressed the incident in a statement Monday night, saying, “We are shocked and horrified by this crime and we are grateful that our journalists are safe.”
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