An Australian reporter was targeted by police using rubber bullets and tear gas while covering the riots in Washington DC following the tragic death of George Floyd.
An officer punched Amelia Brace’s camera in the middle of her live cross to the Sunrise studio, sending the operator to the ground as Ms Brace tried to explain she was with the media.
Police were attempting to push hundreds of protesters back away from the White House, using batons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds.
‘We’re media,’ she shouted as officers lunged at her and her cameraman. Ms Brace said both she and her colleague would have bruises in the morning following the violent riots.
The demonstration was held out the front of the White House in anticipation of President Donald Trump’s public address, following a full week of riots across the nation.
Officer Derek Chauvin (pictured) was identified as the officer pinning down George Floyd in video footage that was widely shared on Tuesday
Pictured: The moment a police officer (left) punched the camera (cameraman pictured centre) filming a journalist (wearing the backpack) for a live TV cross
People are protesting the death of 46-year-old George Floyd, who was allegedly killed by Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin during an arrest.
Footage which circulated following his death showed Chauvin kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck for eight minutes, even after he lost consciousness.
Ms Brace, who is the US correspondent for Channel Seven, said riot police aren’t discriminating between protesters and media.
‘You heard us yelling that we were the media but they don’t care. They’re being indiscriminate,’ she said.
‘I’m a bit sore. I managed to get a rubber bullet to the backside and the cameraman got one to the back of the neck so we’ll have a few bruises tomorrow.’
A person jumps on a burning police vehicle in Los Angeles, Saturday, May 30, 2020, during a protest over the death of George Floyd
New York: Protesters on the West Side Highway confronted police officers as they marched Downtown toward City Hall during protests for George Floyd on Saturday in Manhattan
George Floyd’s (pictured) heartbroken family have called white cop Derek Chauvin to be charged with a more serious crime than third-degree murder after their lawyer revealed that Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for a staggering eight minutes during the arrest for forgery
US President Donald Trump holds up a bible in front of St John’s Episcopal church after walking across Lafayette Park from the White House in Washington following protests
Minutes before the vision was filmed, Ms Brace and her crew were shepherded out of the thick of the protest after they were hit with tear gas and rubber bullets.
‘We just had to run a block as police moved in,’ she said through ragged breath.
‘We’ve been fired at with rubber bullets, my cameraman has been hit, we’ve seen tear gas used… We are surrounded.
‘They do not care who they’re targeting at the moment… You just saw how they were with my cameraman. Quite violent.’
Ms Brace explained the police are basically ‘moving in a big circle’ in an attempt to secure the protesters.
Demonstrators smash a police vehicle in the Fairfax District as they protest the death of George Floyd, in Los Angeles, California on May 30
Pictured: After a peaceful march of hundreds to the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta on Friday
Demonstrators put up their hands to protest the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington
She said she could ‘barely breathe’ following the use of tear gas and struggled to speak.
Just 20 minutes from the time the video was filmed, the state’s curfew would come into effect, meaning anybody who was out in public could be arrested.
Officers were clearing the path for President Trump to walk across the park to pay his respects to St. John’s Church, the historic chapel which was threatened with fire during protests on Sunday night.
Some described the move as a ‘show of defiance against the protesters’.
Trump declared himself the ‘law and order president’ Monday night as he laid down the gauntlet to protesters around the country, ordering them to stand down.
‘I am your president of law and order,’ Trump said in the Rose Garden as law enforcement officials fired rubber bullets and tear gas into protesters in Lafayette Park.
‘If the city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary to defend the life and property of their residence, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them,’ the president said.
Washington DC: Protesters holding banners march from Capitol Hill toward the White House during a rally against the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd on Saturday
Philadelphia: G. Lamar Stewart Sr. carries his son G. Lamar Stewart Jr. as protesters over the death of George Floyd gather at City Hall on Saturday