JumpStart cartoon sparks controversy in Rochester
The Democrat and Chronicle and the creator of a cartoon published in the newspaper Friday regret that the strip hit too close to home, depicting a police shooting.
The JumpStart comic in Friday’s newspaper was part of a serial on the importance of bullet-proof vests. The serial strip, without the context of other installments leading up to it, or the one coming after it, was particularly unfortunate given the local news of two Rochester officers who were shot this week. JumpStart is a strip about real-life struggles of a couple, one of whom is a police officer.
The comics and other features on that page in the Living section are prepared a week in advance, and in this case before the news of the Rochester officers being shot.
“We regret not back-checking the proofs and we are revisiting our procedures to ensure we check comics proofs more closely in the future,” said Karen Magnuson, vice president/news and editor. “We are sorry if some people were offended by the strip and we appreciate the fact that the artist responded quickly to our readers’ concerns.”
The Democrat and Chronicle has taken about 25 calls today, mostly from the law enforcement community.
In a personal note sent soon after he learned of the issue in Rochester, artist Robb Armstrong said he created the strip before knowing of the shootings of two officers in Rochester and four officers in Washington state.
“The response to my comic strip, where I have depicted an officer being shot, has been appropriately emotional,” said Armstrong. “The people of Rochester are not apathetic or numb.”
The Democrat and Chronicle will run tomorrow’s JumpStart strip as scheduled because editors feel it is important for readers to have access to the conclusion of the story.
Rochester Police Locust Club President Michael Mazzeo said in a written statement that he urged people to withhold judgment until they’ve seen the whole story.
“We have determined that the strip in question was one of a series which actually was supportive of police officers,” Mazzeo said. “We urge everyone to read the strip as it concludes. We stress the importance of giving the benefit of the doubt to the cartoonist until the whole strip is concluded.”
A representative from United Feature Syndicate, which distributes JumpStart, said they have heard concern from two other newspapers in communities where there have recently been police-related incidents.
The following is Armstrong’s response to Democrat and Chronicle readers:
I am saddened and horrified whenever I learn of an officer or anyone else being shot at or murdered.
Sometimes I wonder if our society is becoming numb to news of a shooting or some other anti-social atrocity. I wonder if being in a seemingly endless war overseas has caused us to accept inexplicable violence as a normal part of life.
The people of Rochester have shown me otherwise. The response to my comic strip, where I have depicted an officer being shot, has been appropriately emotional. The people of Rochester are not apathetic or numb.
I created the strip you are reading today nearly a month ago. I had no idea that, by the holiday season, four officers in Washington state and two in Rochester would fall victim to senseless violence. But, I create JumpStart knowing the risks of accidental prophecy.
The point of this series is to implore officers to wear their vests every day. “Joe,” the character in JumpStart who gets shot, happens to be wearing a steel medallion given to him by a homeless man. Joe and his family fed the homeless man’s family on Thanksgiving, and he is given the “Hero Medallion” as a display of gratitude. Joe is reluctant to wear the strange gift, but wearing it ends up stopping an assailant’s bullet. A later strip points out that all officers have a life-saving “Hero Medallion,” it is their bullet-proof vest, and they should wear it proudly and fearlessly.
I am grateful for the outcry heard from New York state. I am grateful to be published every day in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. (I’m a graduate of Syracuse University and I’ve enjoyed your city.) Most of all I am grateful that officers Daniel Brochu and Luca Martini will recover. Thank God.
— Robb Armstrong
See Friday’s JumpStart, installments leading up to it and Saturday’s strip.
The timing of the comic strip /Jump Start/ appears at first sight to be offensive. We, at times, criticize the media for jumping to conclusions and not obtaining all of the facts. It is equally important for *us* to obtain all the facts before jumping to a conclusion. We have determined that the strip in question was one of a series which actually was supportive of police officers. We urge everyone to read the strip as it concludes. We stress the importance of giving the benefit of the doubt to the cartoonist until the whole strip is concluded.
Mike Mazzeo
President, Rochester Police Locust club,Inc.
