Reporters and crew across the nation faced both injury and arrest while covering demonstrations brought on by the death of George Floyd
As protests and unrest have unfolded in dozens of cities across the U. S. in response to the murder of George Floyd, journalists covering the events have been attacked and arrested by police, with several of those incidents occurring on air.
One such incident occurred in Louisville, KY, where reporter Kaitlin Rust for WAVE 3 was covering a march protesting the death of Breonna Taylor, a woman who was fatally shot by police in March. While reporting from behind the protest line, Rust and her cameraman were fired upon by police with pepper balls during a broadcast.
“There is simply no justification for the Louisville police to wantonly open fire, even with pepper balls, on any journalists under any circumstances,” WAVE 3 said in a statement. Jessie Halliday, special advisor to Louisville Metro Police, apologized in a statement to the Courier Journal.
“It’s not something that should have occurred if she was singled out as a reporter, and that is what the video looks like occurred,” Halliday said. “It’s a little difficult to determine, in the midst of all of this, who that officer is.… We will be taking a look at the video again after this situation is resolved, and if we need to do any investigation for discipline, we will do that.”
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In Denver, local news team Adi Guajardo posted a picture of her cameraman, who was hit four times by a volley of paintballs and tear gas from police.
