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Police investigating after disturbing video clip appears on Spokane newscast

news control room
Posted at 1:03 PM, Oct 20, 2021
and last updated 2021-10-20 15:10:06-04

Authorities in Spokane, Washington, are investigating after receiving calls from concerned citizens about a disturbing image appearing on televisions during a weather forecast.

In a statement, the Spokane Police Department said at approximately 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, they received several calls about "a pornographic or explicit image" appearing on TVs during a weather forecast on station KREM.

"It was a short video segment, generally described as a small portion of the screen, showing a separate image from the newscast of what appeared to be a possibly pornographic or explicit image," the department said. "Estimates were the image/video lasted about 10 seconds."

TVSpy reported that the brief video clip appeared in a monitor behind the shoulder of meteorologist Michelle Boss while she was giving her first weather update. It aired for about 13 seconds, and neither anchor Cody Proctor nor Boss reacted to it before the station cut to the weather maps.

Police said they responded to the TV station and are investigating how the image appeared on TV screens.

The Spokesman-Review reported that the station had issued an apology.

Authorities said the investigation is ongoing, the TV station is cooperating with police, and "no culpability of any kind has been determined."