An Australian reporter has told of the tense moments after a police officer “freaked out” and ordered him and his crew out of their car at gunpoint in the middle of the country’s riots.
The US has seen days of protests and violence following the death of George Floyd, a black man in custody.
Journalist Tim Arvier has been covering the tensions in the country for Channel 9 and has found himself right at the centre of the clashes including being within metres of a man who was stabbed in Minneapolis, where the crisis began.
On Sunday, Arvier became more than a bystander when he was pulled out of his vehicle and detained by police while reporting on the riots
Tweeting about the incident on social media, Arvier told 9 news the group were clear and careful during the ordeal.
They were driving through the city when they heard gunfire and were then approached by police. While a curfew is in place to try and lessen the violence, journalists are exempt and are supposed to be able to operate freely.
Read also:National guard called to LA as protests.
"We were yelling out we were press,” he told Channel 9
"One police officer freaked out, pulled his gun out and got us to get out of the car.”
Just been detained and searched by #Minneapolis Police. They cuffed my cameraman and our security but were respectful and have now let us go @9NewsAUS
Protesters march by the burning trash cans during a protest over the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man in police custody in Minneapolis, in Los Angeles, Saturday, May 30, 2020. Picture: Ringo H.W. Chiu/APSource:AP
Arvier said police forced each person out of the car one-by-one and searched and handcuffed them. He wasn’t handcuffed but like all the crew was forced into the gutter.
"While they were a bit aggressive and confrontational at the start, it's how nervous they are after what has happened over the last few nights,” he said.
After police had established they were journalists, they were let go, Arvier said.
The Australian crew haven’t been the only journalists to get caught up in the police operations.
In Washington, a Fox News reporter was pummelled and chased by protesters who had gathered outside the White House as part of the nationwide unrest.
Reporter Leland Vittert, was swarmed by protesters and sworn at profusely.
Flanked by two security guards, he and photographer Christian Galdabini walked away from Washington DC’s Lafayette Park trailed by an angry group of protesters before they were dispersed by riot police.
“We took a good thumping,” Vittert told The Associated Press. “The protesters stopped protesting whatever it was they were protesting and turned on us.
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