Suicide of Daniel Jones

Daniel Victor Jones was born on April 15, 1958, and was from Long Beach, California. He worked as a maintenance worker at the Renaissance Hotel in Long Beach, a job he had been employed at since 1995. He lived in a small two-bedroom bungalow off an alleyway in Long Beach. He lived alone with his pet dog Gladdis, a seven-year-old Labrador-whippet mixed-breed. By April 1998, Jones was suffering from both HIV and cancer. His neighbors and fellow workers were unaware that he had any health problems. Jones confided to a friend in early April that he had found a flesh-colored growth on his neck. The doctors at first were unsure of its cause but later confirmed that it was cancer. Jones believed he was being misled by his health insurer and also told his best friend that he was HIV-positive. ==Death==

Standpoint By the end of April 1998, Jones believed he was going to die and so decided to take his own life in a way that would draw publicity, later being quoted as saying, "I'm not happy with what's happening to my situation and I'm going to draw attention to it whichever way I can. My paramount goal is for no one other than myself to get hurt." Suicide On Thursday, April 30, 1998, around 3:00 p.m., 40-year-old Jones parked his dark gray 1994 Toyota Pickup truck on the transition loop from the Harbor Freeway (I-110) to the Century Freeway (I-105) in Los Angeles (). He sat in the front of his truck with his dog Gladdis. He began pointing a loaded shotgun at passing cars on the freeway, causing motorists to report him to the police. Jones himself then called 911, revealing he was emotionally distraught about health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and the circumstances surrounding his HIV. He said that he was in pain because of mistreatment by the HMO in whose care he had been placed. He complained that it would take him a month to schedule an appointment with a doctor and another month to get the results of a test. Jones unfurled a large, square banner with white handlettering that read: "HMO's are in it for the money!! Live free, love safe or die." He had made the banner specifically for the occasion and displayed it for the news helicopters to see. As it was fairly windy on the interstate at the time, Jones weighted the banner down with a container to stop it blowing away. He continued to make obscene gestures and returned to his truck several times to pet his dog. He then continued to wander about looking dazed and disoriented. He walked to the edge of the freeway gesturing angrily. It appeared as if he was about to jump off the freeway; however, he changed his mind and backed away from the edge, before returning to his blazing truck. Jones died 15 days after his 40th birthday. During the standoff, Jones had thrown a videotape over the freeway wall. When recovered by the authorities, who viewed the video, it was discovered that it was a videotaped suicide note recorded by Jones on the previous day. In the video, he sat on his couch next to his dog and said, "I'm not going to fight the disease. It has affected my neurological system. I'm not going to end up crazy." ==Criticism of live broadcasting==

Because Jones's suicide was witnessed by children, many criticized the Los Angeles television stations' practice of airing police pursuits live. The incident prompted a wave of criticism about live news broadcasts, proposing changes in the way they were handled in the future. A total of seven television stations broadcast Jones's suicide live. KABC-TV channel 7 immediately inserted a brief Special Report on the suicide during The Oprah Winfrey Show, while both KTLA channel 5 and KTTV channel 11 had interrupted children's programming to cover the suicide, KCBS-TV channel 2 moved to a wide shot before Jones took his life because they were reportedly concerned over his erratic behavior. The channel brought a psychologist into the studio later that day to hold a live discussion regarding distressing live media coverage. They later released a statement saying, "This is the danger of live television, you've got to be on your toes, and you have to be ready to pull back immediately." KCAL-TV channel 9 reportedly received an estimated 120 calls during the broadcast prior to Jones even taking his life, requesting the station to cut away from the story before things got out of hand. ==In popular culture==

The footage of Jones's suicide has been shown in many documentaries outlining the incident. It appeared in Michael Moore's 2002 documentary film Bowling for Columbine. ==See also==