The number of Australian journalists hit by law enforcement while covering ongoing immigration protests in Los Angeles has climbed to four, with reporters for Nine, the ABC and the New York Times affected.
One incident involved Australian journalist Livia Albeck-Ripka, who works for The New York Times. Albeck-Ripka, now based in LA, said she was hit in the torso by a munition fired by law enforcement while covering the protests.
“Officers began firing crowd-control munitions in our direction, and I was hit below my ribcage. It was a pretty intense, instant pain, I felt winded,” she said in a video for the New York Times. “I was really lucky because I was not seriously injured, I just have a nasty bruise.”
Albeck-Ripka, originally from Melbourne, was hit on Sunday night US time. She noted that less-lethal rounds could kill people if they were struck in the head.
Lauren Day, the North American correspondent for the ABC, has said she and her crew were teargassed when the protests escalated following a long stand-off with police on Monday night local time. The experience was “extremely unpleasant”, she said.
“All of a sudden, we heard large bangs and the crowd started running. I then felt the unmistakable burn of tear gas — first in my eyes, then in my nose, lips and throat,” Day reported for the ABC.
“It really stings your entire face and makes it difficult to breathe until the point you almost want to throw up.”
Later in the night, the cameraman working with Day was shot in the chest with a less-than-lethal round while filming protesters. Day said the cameraman had been wearing a Kevlar vest and had not sustained injuries. He described the pain to the ABC as “like being punched in the chest”.
In response to a question from the Guardian about Day’s report of being hit with teargas, the LAPD said it was “aware of less-lethal deployment use during the protests”.
On Friday, a series of immigration raids across the city prompted several mostly peaceful protests around the city. On Saturday, Donald Trump sent in the national guard, in a move condemned by the California governor, Gavin Newsom, as “purposefully inflammatory”.
Since the deployment of the national guard, tensions have escalated with large crowds gathering in downtown centres. There have been reports of protesters throwing rocks, garbage and other objects at police and of police deploying tear gas and firing less-than-lethal munitions. A curfew has been declared.
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has condemned the actions of an officer who shot Nine journalist Lauren Tomasi with what the network said was a rubber bullet live on air.
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Tomasi was describing the situation in LA on Sunday, when an LAPD officer turned and took aim in her direction before firing his weapon.
Albanese has said the footage of Tomasi being shot was “horrific” and he had raised his concerns with the US government.
The LAPD said it was investigating the use of excessive force by officers – in an apparent reference to Tomasi.
The Los Angeles police chief, Jim McDonnell, said the LAPD was aware and “very concerned” about media being hit with crowd-control munitions.
“I know that situation you’re referring to, with the member of the media. We saw that, we’re very concerned about it and we’re looking into that,” he said this week.
Also on the weekend, British news photographer Nick Stern was injured while covering the protests near Paramount. He believes he was likely hit by a less-than-lethal round shot by deputies.
“I’m walking around taking photos … when I felt a mighty pain in my leg. I put my hand down and felt a lump kind of sticking out the back of my leg,” he told the Guardian. He underwent emergency surgery.
