Trump asserts Philly cop's shooting was under-reported; FOP chief disagrees

The White House on Monday listed dozens of terrorist attacks that it said were under-reported by the media. Among them was the January 2016 shooting of Philadelphia Police Officer Jesse Hartnett.

Hartnett was shot three times in his left arm while sitting in his patrol car in West Philadelphia by a man who allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS.

John McNesby, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, disagreed with the administration's criticism and said Hartnett's shooting was sufficiently covered by the media.

"Yeah, I absolutely think he has enough coverage," McNesby said.

The Jan. 7, 2016, attack had been the subject of about 40 articles in the Inquirer and about 30 in the Daily News, in addition to news coverage by local TV and radio stations, magazines, and blogs.

The story "was all over the place," McNesby said.

As for national news outlets, especially on cable TV, he said, "I think they covered it fairly."

Hartnett's shooting was one of 78 incidents since 2014 that the White House cited as examples after President Trump earlier in the day accused the media of not sufficiently covering terrorism.

Trump told military leaders in Florida: "It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that."

Later, Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the president meant that some terrorist attacks have been "under-reported."

The man accused of shooting Hartnett -- Edward Archer of Yeadon -- is slated for trial this year.

After being shot in an arm three times, Hartnett returned fire and wounded Archer, who was captured and later pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State in police interviews, authorities said.