Ten hours later and I'm home. It's quiet here, and truly peaceful. It's such a stark and welcome contrast from the rest of my day. I spent today in Lawrenceville, Bloomfield and Friendship following a group of protesters who organized an un-permited march. The march was led by a group of anarchists, and met heavy police resistance.
I started today making sure my backpack had all the necessities: water, snacks, camera, laptop, gas mask, etc. Arriving at Arsenal Park two hours early, I photographed the crowd as they gathered, but we were all waiting on the anarchists to arrive. When they did, I began sending back cell phone pictures to the paper to post on the website (the modern cell phone cam creates a decent web-quality image, giving a photojournalist the opportunity to have a photo on their website almost instantaneously).
After the march got underway, it was quickly evident the police response was going to be, we'll say, far more than adequate. The group's first encounter with the police led to an exchange of tear gas being fired at the marchers. As it was happening, I dug out my own gas mask from my bag and put it on, just in time to feel the back of my neck start to burn. I looked around me, and the protesters that were unprotected from the gas were almost vomiting in the street while they ran away from the gas canisters. I felt lucky to have decided to bring it.
At their next intersection with the riot police, I watched police make the first arrest I had seen. I circled around the police to get a better vantage, but this made one officer nervous as he pushed his stick into my chest and yelled, "Back up!" I yelled back, though he probably didn't hear me through the gas mask, that I was press, and backed up slowly with my arms raised. I was able shortly afterwards to photograph the arrested man, only to find later that Post-Gazette photographer Bill Wade was also there, and had a better frame.
The march dwindled after each change of direction and encounter with the riot police. At one point, the police ran to cut the march in two. A scuffle ensued as a dozen officers surrounded a man on the ground. Some of the protesters threw rocks at these officers, who responded in turn by firing rubber bullets from their shotguns. I watched as a woman screamed and ran clear of the fire. This was the most frightening moment of the day. I felt like I was too close to both the officers firing the shots, and the marchers they were targeting. The marchers, angered, then threw rocks into the windows of a Boston Market as they ran away.
Finally, hours after it had all began, the police all but crushed the remaining march as they overwhelmed the protesters with superior numbers. I hunkered down in a restaurant in Bloomfield, ate my first meal of the day and transmitted my take.
Posted
Sep 24 2009, 10:40 PM
by
Michael Henninger