MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) – Two members of a Reuters TV crew were hit by rubber bullets and a photographer’s camera was smashed in Minneapolis on Saturday night as attacks against journalists covering civil unrest in U.S. cities intensified.
Footage taken by cameraman Julio-Cesar Chavez showed a police officer aiming directly at him as police fired rubber bullets, pepper spray and tear gas to disperse about 500 protesters in the southwest of the city shortly after the 8 p.m. curfew.
“A police officer that I’m filming turns around points his rubber-bullet rifle straight at me,” said Chavez.
Minutes later, Chavez and Reuters security advisor Rodney Seward were struck by rubber bullets as they took cover at a nearby gas station.
On footage captured as they ran for safety, several shots are heard ringing out and Seward yells, “I’ve been hit in the face by a rubber bullet.”
Asked about the incident, Minneapolis Police Department spokesman John Elder requested a copy of the video, which Reuters subsequently provided. The department didn’t respond to an email on Sunday.
“We strongly object to police firing rubber bullets at our c