Photojournalist shot with crowd-control munition amid LA ‘No Kings’ protest

Freelance photojournalist Matthew Reamer was shot by police in the back with a crowd-control munition while he was covering a protest against the Trump administration in Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025.

The protest in downtown Los Angeles was one of hundreds of “No Kings” demonstrations held nationwide to counter a military parade attended by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It also followed days of protests in the city and nearby towns against recent federal raids, part of the Trump administration’s larger immigration crackdown.

Reamer told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he arrived around 10 a.m. to cover protests outside Los Angeles City Hall for German outlet Die Zeit. When Reamer left a few hours later to file some photos, he described the protest as still peaceful.

Reamer returned to the protest around 5 p.m., after he learned that Los Angeles Police Department officers were using force to disperse the crowds.

Reamer started taking photos as police fired crowd-control munitions to disperse the demonstrators. “I was quite close to a few of them. I’m pretty sure they saw me,” Reamer said about the police.

Shortly after, stun grenades and a flurry of shots by the police prompted a small stampede of people, Reamer said. In the chaos, one of Reamer’s cameras fell, and a lens broke.

About 20 minutes after returning to cover the protest, Reamer was taking photos of protesters in the crowd of people when he said police shot him squarely in the back, between his shoulder blades.

“It welted up and bruised and had some minor breakage of the skin,” Reamer told the Tracker. He added that he had been taking photos near the police line and had not heard any dispersal warnings.

Reamer said that he believes he was targeted. It was a “perfect shot,” he said, right in the middle of his back. He also said he was clearly working as a journalist, wearing a press credential from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and carrying two large cameras.

“It was pretty obvious I was a member of the press,” he said. “It did feel like it was intentional.”

After being shot, Reamer said he took a moment to recover and then went back to covering the protest for a few more hours.

Around 8 p.m., Reamer was behind the police line with other journalists as the police surrounded a group of protesters in a tactic known as kettling. After he moved closer to the police, Reamer said an officer turned around, grabbed him and pushed him back with the other journalists.

Reamer told the Tracker that he hasn’t taken any legal action over the incidents.

When reached for comment, the LAPD directed the Tracker to the department’s social media accounts. In a June 15 statement posted to X, the department acknowledged that LAPD officers used numerous “less-lethal rounds” when responding to the protests, but did not address the use of munitions against identifiable press.