LOS ANGELES : Suit to Challenge Use of Denny Tape in Ads
The husband and wife who shot the dramatic aerial footage of trucker Reginald O. Denny’s beating said they will go to court to block state Controller Gray Davis’ use of their videotape in his U.S. Senate campaign ads.
Bob Tur, who flew the helicopter while his wife, Marika Gerrard-Tur, filmed the incident at Normandie and Florence avenues, said: “This is highly explosive, inflammatory footage. It was meant strictly for news purposes. We would never agree to allow its use in a political campaign.”
Davis campaign officials said they will continue running the two ads, which replay the near-fatal beating of Denny at the intersection. They also depict vivid scenes of arson and other images from the riots, along with photos of the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy.
Television stations said they are required to run the ads Davis submitted because of federal laws covering candidates for federal office.
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