Wholly Toledo Update: Paramedics Attacked; Pitiful AP Correction to Original “White Supremacists” Headline

Rescue workers do not have “surviving attacks” as part of their job description, but two paramedics had to (link also has a video; HT Michelle She’s-Everywhere Malkin):

TOLEDO — It’s one of the most haunting images of Saturday’s riots in North Toledo. Paramedic Aaron Frisch and his partner, Kathy Zeller, were attacked by a mob.

They were on their way to help at the scene when the crowd started running toward them. “They were still quite a distance away when the rocks and bricks started hitting. I was in a momentary state of shock until the rocks continued to hit and continued to hit and continued to break the windshield and break my rig,” says Frisch.

Within seconds, Frisch said he knew he had to get out of there. He had been hit in the arm. His partner had been hit in the head with a brick. He had no choice but to back out. “I looked out and I saw in their eyes that they intended to do bodily harm,” says Frisch.

The male paramedic who was attacked was very forgiving in his interview. He’s probably being sincere, but don’t forget that he may have had to say what he did to stay safe. It could be very dangerous if he vented his anger at those who attacked him now they know his name.

There is no word on how the person who did NOT get rescued or attended to fared.

ABC will be astonished to know that the video contains no sign of rioting white supremacists (It’s Day 6 since the original October 16 story, and the totally wrong ABC headline and sub-headline are still there).

Michelle also notes an AP correction (probably requires registration) that I consider a semi-correction at best:

Correction: Nazi March Story Headline

Thursday, October 20, 2005; 4:57 PM
TOLEDO, Ohio — In an Oct. 16 story about protesters who rioted at a white supremacists’ march, a headline on an Associated Press online story erroneously said, “White Supremacists Riot in Toledo, Ohio.”

As the story itself made clear, the rioting was by the protesters, not the supremacists. Mayor Jack Ford blamed the rioting on gangs taking advantage of a volatile situation.

Oh for cryin’ out loud. The original headline was NOT about a “Nazi March,” it was about who rioted, and it was wrong. And if it was okay to indicate the race of the supremacists in the original headline, why is it apparently not okay to indicate the race of the “gangs,” even in the body of the correction?

Stuck on Stupid has similar concerns.
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UPDATE: Even more absurd: Don’t forget the supposed “march” referred to in the “corrected” headline was cancelled; it didn’t happen.
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