MINNEAPOLIS — When Minnesota police advanced on peaceful protesters gathered at an intersection outside the Fifth Precinct late Saturday, I didn’t expect them to fire on reporters.
I was wrong.
For the record:
5:07 p.m. June 3, 2020An earlier version of this report said Times photographer Carolyn Cole was wearing a flak jacket labeled “Press.†It was labeled “TV.†The report was unclear about what struck Cole in the face. It was pepper spray.
At about 8:30 p.m., a group of about two dozen Minneapolis police and sheriff’s deputies appeared from behind a chain-link fence opposite protesters. They were in riot gear and grasping batons.
A young African American woman approached the police, arms raised. An officer sprayed her in the face with something that smelled like pepper spray, and the woman ran to seek help from fellow protesters. A young African American man approached the officers, outraged, but another man pulled him back to the main group.
The police retreated back behind the fence. But moments later, a much larger phalanx of officers in riot gear emerged to block the street.
1/39
Demonstrators vandalize a car as they protest the death of George Floyd on Sunday near the White House in Washington, D.C. Floyd, a black man, died after being restrained by a white Minneapolis police officer. (Evan Vucci/ Associated Press)
2/39
Police form a line on H Street as demonstrators gather to protest the death of George Floyd on Sunday near the White House in Washington. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press )
3/39
Police wait in the driveway to the entrance of the Hay-Adams Hotel as demonstrators protest the death of George Floyd on Sunday. (Alex Brandon/Associated Press )
4/39
A group of men defy a curfew in Minneapolis on Sunday to pay their respects at the makeshift memorial and mural outside Cup Foods where George Floyd died. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
5/39
A woman defies curfew in Minneapolis on Sunday to pay her respects at the makeshift memorial and mural outside Cup Foods where George Floyd died. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
6/39
Police advance to engage protesters Saturday after a day of mostly peaceful protest in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
7/39
Demonstrators stand on the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol as thousands of protesters gather Sunday to demand justice for George Floyd as the Minnesota National Guard secure the perimeter of the Capitol building on Sunday in Minneapolis. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
8/39
Jennifer Hauge joins in a protest rally at the 5th Precinct police station in Minneapolis on Saturday. “It’s important to come out and make sure our black brothers and sisters know their lives matter, and that George [Floyd]’s life mattered,†said Hauge. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)
9/39
Jorge Fernandez, right, is comforted by a friend at a rally where George Floyd died early this week. “Everyone wants peace,†Fernandez said. “None of this can bring peace. It’s heartbreaking.†(Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)
10/39
Protesters in Minneapolis. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
11/39
Protesters use milk to help a woman affected by tear gas fired by police near the 5th Precinct in Minneapolis. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
12/39
One woman expresses her desire for peace and love. Despite a curfew, protests and looting went all throughout the night in various parts of the city of Minneapolis. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)
13/39
Protesters hold fists in the air in front of a burning car lot on Friday night in Minneapolis. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
14/39
Protesters loot a gas station on the corner of Lake street and Park Avenue in Minneapolis. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
15/39
Despite a curfew, protests and looting went on throughout Friday night in various parts of the city of Minneapolis. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)
16/39
A protester rides a motorized cart on Friday night through the streets of Minneapolis. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
17/39
The National Guard blocks the road as protesters gather on the corner of Lake Street and Park Avenue Friday night in Minneapolis. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
18/39
The National Guard blocks the road as protesters gather on the corner of Lake Street and Park Avenue Friday night in Minneapolis. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
19/39
The National Guard blocks the road as protesters gather on the corner of Lake Street and Park Avenue in Minneapolis. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
20/39
Demonstrators on the streets of Minneapolis on Friday. (John Minchillo / Associated Press)
21/39
People run as tear gas canisters land near them. (Scott Olson / Getty Images)
22/39
People attempt to extinguish cars on fire in Minneapolis. (John Minchillo / Associated Press)
23/39
An Atlanta Police Department vehicle burns in a protest Friday. (Mike Stewart / Associated Press)
24/39
Demonstrators in Minneapolis on Friday night. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)
25/39
A burning police car in Atlanta. (Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images)
26/39
Looting in Minneapolis. (Scott Olson / Getty Images)
27/39
A protester yells at a member of the Minnesota National Guard. (John Minchillo / Associated Press)
28/39
Protesters demonstrate outside a burning Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct on Thursday. (John Minchillo / Associated Press)
29/39
Protesters demonstrate outside a burning Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody. (John Minchillo / Associated Press)
30/39
Protesters in Minneapolis demonstrate outside a fast food restaurant that’s in flames. (John Minchillo/Associated Press)
31/39
Protesters enter a smoke-filled part of Minneapolis’ 3rd Police Precinct. (John Minchillo/Associated Press)
32/39
Protesters linked in arms demonstrate outside a burning Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct. (John Minchillo/Associated Press)
33/39
Protesters stand outside the Minneapolis 3rd Precinct station. (Molly Hennessy-Fiske / Los Angeles Times)
34/39
Protesters demonstrate outside the Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct, which is in flames. (John Minchillo/Associated Press)
35/39
A protester douses her face with milk after being exposed to tear gas fired by police in St. Paul. (John Minchillo/Associated Press)
36/39
A protester faces off with two police officers using less-lethal ammunition in their weapons in St. Paul. (John Minchillo/Associated Press)
37/39
A person takes items from a liquor store in Minneapolis. (John Minchillo/Associated Press)
38/39
A man breaks a window at a tire store in St. Paul. (John Minchillo/Associated Press)
39/39
Bystanders watch as police walk down a street in St. Paul. (John Minchillo/Associated Press)
That left me stuck between the police and protesters, up against the precinct’s brick wall. But I was with a group of other reporters, photographers and cameramen. The wall had small alcoves where we could duck for cover as police passed and advanced on protesters.
But that’s not what happened.
“This is the Minnesota State Patrol,†a trooper announced through a bullhorn, notifying protesters they were in violation of the curfew and should disperse.
I figured he wasn’t talking to us, that the press were exempt, just as during the COVID-19 pandemic we are exempt from quarantines and allowed to travel. We were wearing our credentials. The Times photographer I was with, Carolyn Cole, wore a flak jacket labeled “TV.†I was wrong.
The officers started by firing tear gas indiscriminately into the street. We watched, cameras rolling. But instead of passing, the officers turned, backed us up against the precinct wall and fired.
“Press!†I shouted, waving my notebook an arm’s length from an officer in riot gear advancing through the smoke.
The officer said nothing, just kept firing. Cole was hit in the face with pepper spray. Other reporters piled on top of me against the wall. That, plus my goggles and mask, shielded me from most of the gas.
But officers kept firing. We realized we had to run, too. We were not exempt. They were treating us as scofflaws.
We tried to move along the wall, but it wasn’t clear where the officers wanted us to go. They issued no order, just fired. Cole, the photographer, shouted that she was unable to see because she’d been hit. One of the cameras was still rolling, and my sister, who lives nearby with her family, heard me shouting on television, “Where do we go?â€
The local cameraman filming it was arrested and later released after also displaying his credentials.
None of the officers responded. Instead, they chased us along the wall and into a corner. Smoke billowed around us. Canisters kept dropping. I was hit in the leg with what I believe was at least one, maybe two rubber bullets.
I didn’t realize it, but I was bleeding from several wounds to my leg. Blood covered the face mask of a reporter next to me, who was so stunned someone had to tell him he was hurt.
We were up against another wall. I scaled it and ran to the nearest open door — a senior apartment complex that had allowed a few fleeing protesters to hide. We cowered as officers prowled outside the front window, chasing other people. I called Cole, who had been taken in and treated by a neighbor a few blocks away.
An 18-year-old protester sheltering with me gave me a ride to the neighbor’s house, and she gave us a ride to seek treatment. As we left, we passed another group of police. They fired a pellet gun at her car, which left red paint on the passenger window. Once we reached a wealthy suburb that hadn’t seen protests, police just waved us through.
I’ve covered protests involving police in Ferguson, Mo., Baton Rouge, La., Dallas and Los Angeles. I’ve also covered the U.S. military in war zones, including Iraq and Afghanistan. I have never been fired at by police until tonight.
