Amanda Harle, the news producer who was arrested at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park after reportedly telling police “I work for KDKA and I’m going to fry you,” has been fired by the CBS O&O.
Earlier this week, Harle, 30, escaped the felony assault charge in her arrest, which occurred after she protested police officers’ use of batons and a taser to subdue an unruly fan, and was found guilty of three misdemeanors and ordered to pay a fine.
Harle’s name has been all over the local news this past week as stations covered the arrest of the man she was defending, which was captured in a dramatic YouTube video.
In a farewell email sent to her KDKA colleagues, posted by NewsBlues, Harle said that she had “stood up for what I believed in,” although she regretted “identifying myself as a KDKA employee.”
“I was hoping and praying that the station would stand by me like they have with other employees who found themselves in sticky situations,” she wrote, “but unfortunately, it is not the case.”
As local Pittsburgh media covered Harle’s arrest and court hearing, KDKA remained silent on the matter.
Local viewers even took to the station’s website, asking about Harle’s status with KDKA on the site’s “Get Answers Pittsburgh” forum. Taking a head-in-the-sand approach, the station pulled every viewer question.
As of right now, KDKA has not made a formal statement about Harle’s employment status. When asked by TVSpy today, a station spokesperson issued a simple “no comment.”
Here’s video of Harle’s arrest: