Cameraman cited for coaxing teens

NORWALK, Ohio (AP) -- A television news cameraman paid a $145 fine after police said he enticed three teenagers to ride their bikes through waist-high floodwaters.
The boys told police that Gary Abrahamsen of WEWS-TV in Cleveland offered to put them on TV if they rode through the water on a bridge, according to a police report. They said a reporter waded into the water so they would be riding behind her in the video.
Police cited Abrahamsen with misdemeanor disorderly conduct June 22. He paid the fine June 28, according to Norwalk Municipal Court.
Judy Shaw, an assistant to WEWS Vice President and General Manager John Butte, said Wednesday that the station did not have any comment. A message seeking comment was left for Abrahamsen.
Abrahamsen denied coaxing the two 13-year-olds and one 14-year-old to ride through the water, telling The Plain Dealer that paying the fine was cheaper than fighting the citation.
Norwalk, about halfway between Toledo and Cleveland in Huron County, was among the areas hardest-hit by storms in northern Ohio that began June 21, killing two people, producing several tornadoes and knocking out power to thousands.