Arrest warrant issued for man who punched KATV photographer working in Little Rock

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Little Rock police are searching for a man who reportedly punched another man, unprovoked. The victim? KATV photojournalist, 63-year-old Marcus McDonald.

About a month ago, McDonald and KATV reporter Viktoria Capek were conducting live shots for KATV’s Daybreak show in the early morning hours near the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. Around 5:45 a.m., a man approached McDonald near Hurts Donut and punched him on the right side of his face.

McDonald recalled, "He comes over, he says, 'What did you say, B?' I said, 'What?' And he said, 'What did you say?' And just swung. That was it."

The suspect, according to a police report, is 36-year-old Ronnie Gifford. He is facing a third-degree battery charge. Pulaski County Court records show Gifford, who police said is homeless, has a criminal history but most of his offenses resulted in probation sentences.

McDonald, 63, said it turned into a fight to survive, considering the man who reportedly punched him is half his age. He said he wasn’t sure if Gifford had any weapons.

“I’m here today because I did fight,” McDonald said. “I didn’t want to be put in a situation where I allow somebody to beat me down, so I had to go 'back home' on him. And when I say go back home on him, I had to fight for my life.”

Since it was a misdemeanor offense, Gifford was not arrested. But a misdemeanor arrest warrant was issued by the county prosecutor’s office. Gifford told police that whatever McDonald said happened, was "probably true," according to the report.

“He took an opportunity because I’m a black man," McDonald said. "Some people might say I’m wrong but I do believe that. Because he had every opportunity in the world. There was white guys going in and out of that doughnut shop all morning. He could have jumped on a whole lot of folks besides me. People say he was mad at the media – well he didn’t touch the camera, he didn’t touch Viktoria. It was just me.”

McDonald, who has worked at KATV for 37 years, said while he’s been threatened over the years due to the stories he’s covered, he never imagined being attacked randomly or finding himself with a knee on a man’s neck.

“This is somebody’s child," he said. "All of that Floyd stuff went through my mind. Just think -- the fight lasted longer than eight minutes. What if I would have kept my knee on that man’s neck? Was it worth him dying? Think about it. Now I would have had to live with the fact that I took somebody’s life. I’m not here to give or take anyone’s life. I’m here to tell somebody who’s watching this, you can do it, too.”

McDonald added that whether Gifford is arrested or not, he’s more concerned about the hate he described seeing.