Complaint
This bulletin included a report on an incident in which a man had been rescued from the Thames after being Tasered on Chelsea Bridge Road, but died later in hospital. A viewer challenged the description of him as “armed with a screwdriver” as inaccurate, culturally biased and likely to fuel “Afriphobia”. The ECU considered the complaint in relation to the BBC’s guidelines on impartiality and on harm and offence in relation to the perpetuation of prejudice.
Outcome
The phrase complained of was not that of the programme-makers, but was taken from the police statement on the matter, and was duly attributed. As the report contained no indication of the victim’s culture or ethnicity, the ECU saw no basis on which it could be regarded as culturally biased or to have fueled “Afriphobia” or any other cultural or ethnic prejudice.
Not Upheld