Geraldo Rivera and Dan Bongino had a heated debate Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” over policing and protests in the wake of Daunte Wright’s death.
Rivera said, “I have been covering cops for over 50 years. I am perhaps the most deeply experienced reporter in television history. I have done hundreds of stories over thousands of hours with cops.”
He continued, “This accident that happened in Minneapolis was unintentional, but involuntary manslaughter doesn’t require intent. This was reckless or grossly negligent behavior. I have the solution to the problem. Cops wear their main weapon, their 9-millimeter usually these days on their dominant hand, so say their right hand. So this is the hand that has the gun. The taser is on the left hand, your secondary hand. So they are thought to use the taser in nonlethal situations. My suggestion is, reverse it. Make the taser the first weapon of choice for a cop. Put the taser in the dominant hand and the 9-millimeter on the secondary hand. It takes half a second to get that if you need that in a life and death situation. But if you have the taser in your dominant hand, you’re more likely to use it than the nonlethal weapon, and you could avoid the 18 accidental police shootings where a cop thought he or she was using the taser.”
Radio host and conservative political commentator, Bongino said, “I don’t even know how to respond to that. Give me a second to digest the stupidity of that.”
Rivera said, “How about responding with facts? You’re nothing but a name-caller! You’re a cheap shot artist!”
Bongino said, “There’s a big difference between reporting on a baseball game and playing it, Geraldo. You’ve never worn a badge, period. Not interested in your reporting on it because reporters deal with facts, and you brought the race card into it the other night when we had this debate, despite having no facts to back that up.”
Rivera said, “Blacks are twice as likely to be shot by cops as whites. How about that fact?”
Bongino said, “They did an actual study on police contacts and found no systemic racism.”
Rivera said, “I know more than you! What do you know? What, did you have a ten-minute career as a cop? You’ve been running for office for the last 20 years.”
Bongino said, “Take a Valium. You’ve really gotta pipe down. My gosh, you’re a 70-year-old man. Get a hold of yourself.”
He added, “Back off. Stop telling everyone about your great reporting. Deal with facts, and realize you don’t know what you think you know. You just know what you think you reported on.”
Rivera said, “What Bongino does is make me the issue. Is anything he has just said — is it useful on this topic?”
He added, “What we need to do is assure a very restive public that cops aren’t out to get them. We have to reassure the Black mothers.”
Bongino said, “If there was a plague of police officers hunting Black men down at night, then — I don’t understand, if that’s happening, where is the massive body count?”
Rivera said, “This man is why they have that rage. This man with his baloney. This is baloney!”
Bongino said, “He’s injecting race into the argument because he has nothing else!”
He added, “All you want to do is see the country burn.”
Rivera shouted, “I want to see the country burn?! You son of a bitch! I want to see the country burn, you punk?! You’re nothing but a punk!”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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