Journalists Shot, Injured During L.A. Riots

Safety at Work

Los Angeles, CA (WorkersCompensation.com) – Journalists were among those injured by law enforcement and military members during the efforts to curb protests in Los Angeles.

According to the LA Press Club, more than 30 journalists have been among those injured during the protests against ICE raids. Police have fired less-lethal munitions at protestors trying to disperse them in the pockets of resistance across the city. Since the confrontations began over the weekend, journalists have been hit, pushed and in some cases fired upon, the LA Press Club said.

According to Reuters, two reporters were directly fired upon. Lauren Tomasi, a U.S. correspondent for 9News Australia, was hit while she was reporting on live television. Tomasi had her back to police as the Los Angeles Police Department’s mounted patrol came on to the scene on horseback. Tomasi was speaking into the camera when an officer pointed a weapon at her and fired, video of the event showed. The projectile from the weapon struck Tomasi in the leg.

“I got hit,” she said as she and her cameraman took cover.

Video of the incident went viral. The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, called the incident “horrific.” He said Tomasi was targeted as a journalist and that his country has spoken to the Trump administration about the issue.

In response, the LAPD has said it will be “will be investigating allegations of excessive force and other issues related to LAPD actions during the protests,” but it is not clear if that specifically means the incident involving Tomasi.

A freelancer working for the New York Post, Toby Canham, said he was struck by a projectile while working on Sunday. Canham said he was hit with a “hard and rubbery” projectile that knocked him to the ground and left him with a bruised forehead. The Post published images of the law enforcement officers Canham said fired at him.

According to the press club, at least five of the injured journalists required medical attention.

Others injured over the weekend were a freelance photographer hit in the leg by a 14-millimeter sponge round fired at close range which required surgery to remove; a reporter working for the New York Times who was struck just below the ribs by a projectile; another reporter from Australia who was tear-gassed and struck with pepper rounds while reporting, as well as her cameraman who was hit in the chest; and a 74-year-old writer for the World Socialist Web Site who was shot in the back with a rubber bullet, according to the news website Closer to the Edge.

Reuters said other journalists were tear-gassed, confined in small areas or had their bags searched by law enforcement without their consent.

When asked by Reuters about the injuries to journalists, a White House spokesperson pivoted to risks law enforcement officers and the public face during protests.

“Whenever violent, left-wing rioters engage in lawless behavior, they put innocent bystanders at risk," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Reuters in a statement.

Adam Rose, the LA Press Club’s press rights chair, said the number of incidents involving journalists since the weekend is unprecedented in that city.

It’s not the first time journalists have come under attack and suffered injuries in the U.S. The number of physical assaults on members of the media spiked in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter after the killing of George Floyd, said Press Freedom Tracker. Since then, assaults on journalists have waned. Before the unrest, the web site showed, only a handful of similar cases had been logged in the tracker’s database.

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