Photojournalist says he was kicked by individuals during L.A. protest

Photojournalist Ringo Chiu, a member of the National Press Photographers Association, said he was kicked by individuals while documenting protests in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California, on May 30, 2020.

The protests in Los Angeles were sparked by a video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. Floyd was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Demonstrations against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement have been held across the United States since the end of May.

Chiu posted multiple photos of bruises on his left leg and damage to his camera on Facebook the following day, with the caption, “Rubber bullet fired by LAPD and kicked by a protester…”

The Tracker documented the assault and equipment damage from the rubber bullets here.

Chiu told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker via email: “I am not sure whether or not I was targeted when I was kicked by the protesters during the chaos of the protest. They were attacking a police vehicle and most likely did not want me photographing them in the act.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that multiple vehicles belonging to the Los Angeles Police Department were vandalized and at least two were set on fire during the protests on May 30.

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented hundreds of incidents of journalists being assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd control ammunition or tear gas, or having their equipment damaged while covering protests across the country in 2020. Find these incidents here.