Morning Briefing: KPCC/LAist Reporters Experience Violence While Covering Protests

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KPCC/LAist reporters Chava Sanchez and Adolfo Guzman-Lopez were both injured while reporting on the anti-racism protests over the weekend. Chava was tear-gassed by police in the Fairfax District, and Adolfo was hit in the throat with a rubber bullet by an officer in Long Beach.

Both are on the mend, but the incidents – along with a host of other physical attacks on journalists – signal a disturbing comfort among law enforcement to disregard freedoms of the press.

Adolfo described what happened to him in the moments after he interviewed a protester:

"I heard a pop and I felt something [at] the bottom of my throat and I saw something bounced onto the ground, and then I ran … [Police are] trying to stop people committing violent acts or that sort of thing. I was doing none of that... and I was nowhere near anybody engaged in any kind of, taking, stealing or whatever.”

And here’s Chava on the moment when officers fired tear gas canisters into what he described as a peaceful crowd, many with their hands up:

"One of the canisters landed right near me and it just started blowing. I couldn't see. I had to put my camera down."

In addition to Adolfo and Chava’s experiences, KPCC/LAist reporters Emily Guerin and Josie Huang, in separate instances, had weapons aimed at them by law enforcement officers while covering the weekend’s protests.

Keep reading for more on what’s happening in L.A. today, and stay safe out there.

— Jessica P. Ogilvie

Coming Up Today, June 2

Many businesses have postponed reopening because of the unrest in recent days. David Wagner explores what goes into their calculation whether to reopen, and where the postponement leaves them financially.

There doesn’t appear to be much research on whether government-enforced curfews are productive, reports Emily Elena Dugdale. But some experts worry that, in communities of color, curfews will encourage the kind of aggressive policing that gave rise to unrest in the first place.

Mariana Dale gets tips from L.A. parenting experts and parents themselves on how they're coping with current events and holding conversations with their children about race, injustice, etc.

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The Past 24 Hours In LA

L.A. Protests: The use of tear gas may be escalating the spread of COVID-19 at rallies. Here’s what we know about mandatory curfews going into June 2. Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke in support of protesters, but said there will be accountability for both police and members of the public who commit violence. Long Beach officials responded to veteran reporter Adolfo Guzman-Lopez being hit in the throat with a rubber bullet.

Coronavirus In Numbers: There are now 56,017 coronavirus cases and 2,386 deaths in L.A. County, and at least 114,732 cases and 4,218 deaths in California. Worldwide, there are more than 6.2 million cases and over 375,000 deaths.

The 2020 Census: L.A.'s Department of Public Health hit the brakes on the Census Bureau's plan to send enumerators back out into communities.

Flying This Summer: After you flash your ID and pull liquids out of your carry-on baggage at LAX this summer, you might be asked to reveal your body temperature as well.

The Pandemic-Police Brutality Link: L.A. County's public health director drew a direct line from the longstanding inequities resulting in people of color dying at higher rates from COVID-19, to the police killings that sparked the current protests.

Things To Do This Week: Here's how to support L.A.'s Black-owned restaurants. Catch virtual art show openings, watch Darren Criss spoof the world of songwriting, listen to celeb storytellers and more in this week’s quarantine-approved events.

First Person: Austin Cross writes, as a Black man in America: "For so long, I wanted, needed, to think that there was something I could do to be safe in the world. There wasn't. There never was, really."

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