Emotions ran high between police and protesters during a rally in support of Mike Brown. LAPD officers created a bottleneck by blocking protesters with nowhere to exit. Soon after being blocked, the LAPD gave the protesters a four minute warning to disperse or risk being arrested for unlawful assembly. Wednesday Nov. 26, 2014. Los Angeles, Calif.
Hi everyone, I've updated my Journalism gallery with some new photos from the recent protest/rally for Mike Brown in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday Nov. 26. It was a really gnarly experience and I've documented a lot of protests in the past but I have never been close to being arrested as I was on this night.
I've learned many things from this protest with regards to covering it as a journalist. One of the things I've learned is that if you're persistent, courteous and professional to the police, they will open up doors for you as far as access even though your college press pass doesn't hold as much weight in their eyes as say, an AP press pass. Also, talking to the many photographers and reporters that night from a number of media outlets like the LA Times, AP, AFP, Daily News etc. was awesome. They were open to our questions regarding getting your foot through that journalism door. Another thing I've learned is that covering (spot) news thrills me and it's what I want to do.
There'll be a better detailed document of my experience along with the other Roundup News reporters/photographers that were with me on this night as I plan to do a Behind The Print edition of our coverage so I will post that once it's completed.
-Q