Chak's Editorial: Fresco News On Scene of a San Jose Police Officer-Involved Shooting

Friday, April 21, 2017 - the day started out quiet, but didn't stay for long. The ending to a work week was a nightmare, but I ended up with some extra change in my pockets via the Fresco News app. I was out and about on a sunny day and listening to the 5-0 radio app for any sign or detection of a major incident. The first one was a palm tree that caught on fire not far from Story Road on Remillard Court, though I could not trespass due to restriction signs.

That was only short-lived, as I was heading inside a nearby Walmart to search for a small meal, using the Ibotta app. I was then heading back to downtown San Jose to rest when during my drive along Santa Clara Street, I was on the 5-0 radio app and tuned into the San Jose Fire dispatch radio channel for a possible Delta radio call of a man that was seen holding a knife and making threats on other people around 12:44pm (PST). Gunshots were also mentioned on the dispatch, so I went almost immediately to Google Maps and pinpointed the intersection. I was there within 20 minutes due to me having to find parking - surprised that I was the first Fresco user on the scene. And so my own investigation began.

For three straight hours, I aimed my iPhone's camera directly at the scene just across the street along Senter Road at Lewis Road. At the time of the arrival, reporters from KTVU FOX 2 were unavailable, but I started to upload Fresco content as quickly as possible, given the overwhelming evidence I uncovered. Reporters Azneith Smith and Jesse Gary were unavailable; the latter of which was covering ComicCon.

The one that I was deeply concerned about was how long the investigation was going to last. And it was not looking so good. Lewis Road was shut down for at least 6 hours to facilitate the investigation. Seeing the enormous evidence I uncovered, I did make contact with the KTVU newsroom and identified myself as a Fresco user to report at least 3 gunshots were fired. I also was the first to tweet out the warning about the incident after. News crews were still not there during the 3pm hour, and so I stayed at the scene to grab more information and upload as fast as possible on the Fresco app.

KTVU was apparently shocked to hear a crime happening in San Jose while Jesse Gary was having fun at ComicCon. But I was not having fun at all, and what was more shocking is that San Jose was not the only city in the Bay Area to have gun problems. Hayward was also having problems with police activities there as well, but no video was fed in, according to KTVU crime reporter and former San Francisco Chronicle reporter Henry Lee. I did put in a quote tweet in a response to my question to San Jose police that the activity may last several more hours. News crews never arrived on scene until around 4pm, when reporters from NBC and Telemundo arrived. CBS and ABC also arrived on scene as well shortly after, but Univision didn't arrive until 5pm.

In response to the late arrivals by NBC, CBS, ABC, Telemundo, and Univision, I created memes to show proof that a Fresco News user (literally, me) was on the scene within 20 minutes of the San Jose fire radio call for gunshot reports. Because San Jose police has as many as 7 frequencies, I was unable to track them all - San Jose Fire on the radio (via the 5-0 radio app) was very helpful in giving me tips of where things are happening. As San Jose fire on the 5-0 radio app was the critical tool in helping me track stories for the Fresco app, I still think that KTVU and Fresco News (on that fateful April day) have embarrassed local Bay Area news outlets for being almost 4 hours late.

The content eventually went to air about the officer-involved shooting, who I eventually learned later that the suspect was named Khanh Tran. He aimed his knife at officers which led officers to shoot him. While I was tuning in to the 10 O'Clock News on KTVU via my iPhone on a mobile browser, my content was recognized, even though my name was not mentioned that time - instead to read what happened there. Fully Involved Media's Andrew Tetreault also jumped in to ask me about my content, as I opted not to get in too close in order to preserve the crime scene.

Maybe Andrew's next road trip should be in the Bay Area, as random assignments are given out due to increasing Bay Area traffic...

BUZZ OVER FRESCO CONTENT

The CEO of Fresco News, John Meyer, does follow me on Instagram and Facebook (the latter without a friend request), but not on Twitter. I so far managed to sneak too much stories on social media without Meyer looking at the Fresco app like my scene in San Jose. It's too obvious that Fresco is having too much fun with my silly uploads. Not all of my uploads have a three video minimum unless requested. I usually upload one video at a time to facilitate my ability to record and upload more as needed. Meyer only claims to have seen it all in terms of my posts on Fresco stories, but not follow all. I think Meyer may want to follow more users to see more exclusives, as some Fresco users have a Facebook setting that only allows users' friends to see the content supplementing the Fresco uploads like the officer-involved shooting mentioned herein.

Oh man, this story was only the start of a string of stories that were purchased by KTVU and/or other Fresco partners. I am getting some buzz among executives at the Fresco headquarters in New York City in spite of being a regular user (not yet a pro user)... Some examples as of so far in 2017 are described below...

1. Treatbot and Moveable Feast founder Ryan Sebestian saw me at the beginning, but he never realized that I was there to see and spot Steve Wozniak in person. I caught Steve Wozniak making announcements regarding ComicCon... and I was unaware that my shot on Wozniak caught KTVU's attention - and even Meyer himself! Meyer told me via a Twitter response that he did meet Wozniak in person.

2. While KTVU was covering a mudslide in the Santa Cruz Mountains, I uncovered a mudslide along East Dunne Avenue as the Anderson Reservoir was almost completely full. I was there from start to finish as other people were having a problem crossing the bridge. The mudslide completely blocked the roadway. I watched as truck after truck worked to clear the mudslide. The kid was late for school at Britton Middle School - lucky that another person took him to school. Over 11 cars were waiting on the bridge as the only road to Morgan Hill was not available, so they had to sit out and wait for 2 hours. I eventually called KTVU and they ended up snatching 5 of my videos - the most from any Fresco user.

3. When a flood affected north Salinas, KTVU called for the content and I responded with videos from the scene, despite the presence of another news station in the immediate area. The road was inaccessable for some users, but I was determined to get there within 30 minutes. Eventually, I shot some 5 videos and 2 of my videos ended up in KTVU's hands.

4. When a flood spilled over from Anderson Reservoir, I was among the 3 Fresco users that shot content from various spots, including one along Tully Road where some equipment near the Coyote Creek was flooded. I eventually got my video purchased by the Weather Channel - the first time that my video was snatched by a cable network.

5. My most recent content so far was the blackout at Great Mall in Milpitas (and one of 2 stories covered for Fresco in which KTVU got my contents), which I called up the KTVU newsroom to report it quickly. Then I dashed around the mall to get answers, and found out the whole mall was blacked out. I was the only user to capture content seconds after the blackout; that one ended up in KTVU's hands - and they subsequently reported on the blackout that day during the evening newscasts starting around 5pm up to around the recently launched 11pm news. Before that, I also covered an assignment in Redwood City, which was a funeral for San Mateo County officers that died in the line of duty. I was a bit surprised that 2 of my videos were purchased, despite the presence of a KTVU cameraman - probably because that my videos were uploaded before KTVU's cameraman got to the vehicle!

So far, what a year it has been for me. I do look forward to covering more stories at the sound of police or fire activity. KTVU does appreciate my calls to the newsroom for some of my tips even though they are busy - I am always ready to dial up the newsroom at anytime when news breaks in San Jose or upon the request of the Fresco app somewhere in Santa Clara County from Gilroy to Palo Alto and Milpitas to Los Gatos, even though I do not limit my Fresco stories to only Santa Clara County (I did have success in San Mateo and San Francisco; some of which I ended up stealing the show!). I do envision that I will cover more stories for Fresco from all parts of the Bay Area someday - but not now.

Original Work: Kyle Chak
E-mail: chak595301@gmail.com
Twitter: @KyleSChak