"Daily Show" host Jon Stewart apologized to a San Bernardino district attorney Friday for lumping a local police Taser-related death in with police shootings of black men.
Stewart made the mistake in a segment aired Monday, where he mocked pundits refuting the idea that the death of Michael Brown at the hands of a Ferguson police officer might be part of a pattern of black men being killed by law enforcement agents.
But San Bernardino County DA Michael Ramos was outraged when a man from his jurisdiction was included in that list.
"This is an isolated incident, like the police shoting of Tamir Rice in Cleveland, or Dante Parker in San Bernardino County, or Kendrec McDade in Pasadena," Stewart said, wryly suggesting that police shootings are not always justified.
Parker, 36, died after he was shocked by a Taser multiple times in August by a sheriff's deputy while a colleague was trying to arrest him for an alleged burglary.
In his videotaped reply, Ramos said Stewart was "so wrong" about how Parker died, saying the father of five was under the influence of drugs when he was allegedly resisting his arrest.
The coroner's report said he died from a combination of PCP intoxication and heart disease, though the family planned to sue the sheriff's department for wrongful death.
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"I really believe we need to get our facts straight before we start making statements like that," Ramos said Wednesday, going on to urge viewers to talk about how law enforcement officers risk their lives.
Stewart evidently agreed that he committed an error.
"You're right re Dante Parker. Sloppy to put him in our list of shootings," the Daily show account tweeted on Friday, mentioning Ramos's work account. "Larger point still stands."
An apology on TV will come on Monday, according to the Daily Show's tweet.
