Cameraman hit with crowd-control munition while covering LA protest

A cameraman for ABC Australia was struck by a crowd-control munition fired by law enforcement and tear-gassed while covering an immigration protest in Los Angeles, California, on June 10, 2025, the outlet reported.

The protests began June 6 in response to federal raids in and around Los Angeles of workplaces and areas where immigrant day laborers gathered, amid the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown. After demonstrators clashed with Los Angeles law enforcement officers and federal agents, President Donald Trump called in the California National Guard and then the U.S. Marines over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

In the early hours of June 10, the cameraman was filming protesters in the Little Tokyo district of downtown LA pushing garbage bins toward a line of police standing in a street when he was hit. On the video, a person can be heard saying “hit in the chest” as the camera falls sideways.

He was struck with what may have been a rubber or foam round, but was wearing a bulletproof Kevlar vest, the outlet said. It did not specify which branch of law enforcement fired the round.

ABC said he described the pain as “like being punched in the chest.”

He was working with a crew that included correspondent Lauren Day, who told The Guardian, “He was thankfully wearing a Kevlar vest at the time so was totally uninjured and didn’t even wake up with a bruise.

“We didn’t see what he was hit by but I’m just grateful whatever it was didn’t strike his neck or face where it might have really done some damage,” she added.

The Guardian reported that the cameraman was a freelancer and was not Australian.

Day told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that earlier that night, she and her crew had been filming a peaceful standoff in Little Tokyo between protesters and officers she believed to be from the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, when suddenly they heard bangs and “were overcome with the impacts of tear gas (burning eyes, nose, mouth and throat).”

She added that the incidents have “certainly made us much more vigilant about security and less trusting of law enforcement.”

“I have reported from the Middle East five times since October 7 and from Myanmar during the civil war there but I never expected to see scenes like this when I moved to the U.S. earlier this year.”

When reached for comment, the LAPD directed the Tracker to the department’s social media accounts, where statements and comments would be posted. The account does not appear to have posted any comment concerning the shooting of the ABC cameraman or the tear-gassing of the crew.

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said in a press conference June 9 that he was “very concerned” about reports that members of the press were being hit by crowd-control munitions.

In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 10, the Sheriff’s Department said it prioritizes maintaining access for credentialed media, “especially during emergencies and critical incidents.”

“The LASD does not condone any actions that intentionally target members of the press, and we continuously train our personnel to distinguish and respect the rights of clearly identified journalists in the field,” a public information officer wrote. “We remain open to working with all media organizations to improve communication, transparency, and safety for all parties during public safety operations.”