A panel on Fox News’ “MediaBuzz” Sunday defended MSNBC host Al Sharpton from critics who accused him of being responsible for the death of two police officers in New York.
The two officers were killed Saturday by a man as apparent retribution for the unrelated deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. Both Garner and Brown were black men killed by separate white police officers. Sharpton was involved with both cases and claimed that Garner and Brown were wrongfully targeted as black men.
“We have two dead police officers, and I guess Al Sharpton got what he wanted,” said Retired NYPD detective Harry Houck on CNN after the shootings.
“I’m hearing a lot of voices on cable now blaming anyone who’s criticized the police for anything and that doesn’t strike me necessarily as fair,” said “MediaBuzz” host Howard Kurtz.
Jonah Goldberg, a Fox News contributor, agreed it wasn’t fair, but said conservatives like former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (also a Fox contributor) have also been wrongfully blamed for violence that seems politically motivated.
“Yes, and that was wrong and I said it was wrong at the time,” Kurtz said.
“I agree it was wrong and we shouldn’t be doing the same thing in this circumstance,” said Goldberg.
“I see it a little like blaming violent videos for violence,” said former CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson. “I think those who commit the violence are responsible for the violence, with few exceptions.”
Sharpton wrote a column for the New York Daily News, saying that using the deaths of Garner and Brown to enact violence against police is “senseless.”
