Philadelphia TV station PHL17 fired reporter Colleen Campbell after being caught on camera yelling at a police officer and spitting at a comedy club manager. She was also arrested and charged with resisting arrest, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct, Philly Mag reported.
Campbell cursed at the police officer, who she called a “piece of sh*t” more than once, and boasted about her news job. “I work at a f**king news station, motherf**ker, I work at PHL17,” she said. Comic Wil Sylvince uploaded video of the incident. The video has more than 2 million views.
After being arrested, Campbell also kicked the officer and his squad car, according to the Philadelphia Police Department’s statement, Philly Magazine reported.
There are no search results for “Colleen Campbell” on PHL17’s website, as of June 6.
iMediaEthics has written to the comedy club for more details about this incident and to Campbell’s former employer PHL17’s parent company, Tribune Broadcasting, to ask what her job title was and what the reason was for her firing.
According to her LinkedIn page, Campbell started as a “multimedia journalist” with the station in May 2016. Her LinkedIn page states, “Upon completing my internship, I was offered a part-time position with the PHL17 news team. Currently I am the production assistant for our morning show and a fill in photographer out in the field.”
iMediaEthics has sent Campbell a message via LinkedIn to ask for further comment, what her job title was and why she was told she was fired.
In a post on Facebook, before deleting her page, Campbell said she only had one drink and suggested she was drugged, according to Philly Magazine.
Campbell told the magazine she felt “ruined and embarrassed” by the viral video and doubled down on her Facebook claim that she may have been drugged. Campbell said she didn’t take any test to check, claiming the police told her it “would slow down the process” of being released from jail.
iMediaEthics has written to the Philadelphia Police Department to ask about this and for a copy of the police arrest report.
That said, Campbell changed her Facebook story and admitted she had a margarita and two shots before going to the comedy club and having another two drinks.
When asked by Philly Magazine if it was possible she was just drunk given that amount of alcohol, Campbell pointed to her other job as a bartender and said “I know my limits” and that she wasn’t sure.