LA Mayor Karen Bass performs first aid after news photographer collapses, Internet believes she did it for the 'clicks'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: During a press conference on Thursday, December 7, 2023, a news photographer with KCAL News collapsed and hit his head, prompting Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, to provide medical assistance, as shown in a video from the event.

Bass, who has a background in nursing and worked as a physician’s assistant in the past, was welcoming 60 new recruits from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Elysian Park training academy set to graduate next week when the incident occurred.

The KCAL News photographer was attended to by Bass and others present at the scene, according to KNX News, 

What did bystanders report of the incident?

KNX News’ Craig Fiegener, who was standing right next to the photographer when he went down, reported, “The very first person to run to his rescue was the mayor.”

Mayor Bass and several individuals, including Fiegener, provided assistance to the photographer. Together, they rolled the man onto his side in order to assess his condition.

The mayor was especially proactive in administering aid and checked the photographer's pulse, demonstrating a level of knowledge that appeared to exceed that of the other police officers present. The mayor studied was part of the Physician Assistant Program at USC Keck School of Medicine and graduated in 1982.

In 1990, Bass also earned a BSc in Health Sciences from California State University in Dominguez Hills. Therefore, her expertise and proactiveness came as no surprise.

“The chief of police was there, but he didn’t offer any help,” Fiegener recalled. “A couple of people who, I don’t know if they were medics but they had some medical equipment, helped wrap his head up from the bleeding, from the fall. But the mayor was the one who was in charge of just basic stabilizing him.”

The mayor's actions were captured on video, which shows her dressed in a suit and working alongside two uniformed police officers.

After approximately 15-20 minutes, an ambulance arrived on the scene to transport the injured photographer to a medical facility. At this time, the press has no information regarding his condition.

Internet calls incident of Karen Bass helping photographer staged

People on X had no good words to spare for the LA Mayor as many speculated the incident to be only for the cameras and a way to garner attention and praise for the politician.

One X user simply declared, "Photo op," as another person  slammed the mayor, writing, "Still, I will list this as the first person she's helped for real in any way in Los Angeles."

Another person also accused the mayor of faking the incident, writing, "More like another photo op pretending she knows what she’s doing," as a fourth concurred, "All set up for clicks!"

One more X user speculated the same thing as they wrote, "Photo opportunity perhaps," while another also decisively declared, "Staged."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.