4 days ago
L.A. Protests Prompt Calls for Police Restraint After Journalist Injuries
Nick Stern had moved into position to take a photograph of a group of people waving Mexican flags near a line of police officers in the Los Angeles area on Saturday when he felt a sharp pain in his right thigh.
Before long, Mr. Stern, a seasoned photojournalist who works mostly with British news outlets, had passed out. Then he was in surgery.
A deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department had shot Mr. Stern with some kind of projectile, Mr. Stern said, the munition lodging in his thigh and putting him on a weekslong path to recovery.
Over the last few days, several journalists have been injured by law enforcement officers during the protests that have played out in parts of downtown Los Angeles and led to an escalating battle between California and the Trump administration.
Mr. Stern, 60, has covered protests for decades, and said he always keeps either his press badge or camera visible, to indicate he is a journalist. He said he wasn't sure if the police targeted him or if the deputy who fired on him was just 'a bad shot.'
Still, press freedom groups have condemned law enforcement for injuring journalists over the last few days, noting several instances of law enforcement officers firing projectiles at journalists.
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