Sunrise crew “worse for wear” after police attack during George Floyd protests
Seven News reporter Amelia Brace has provided a grim update on her and her cameraman’s condition after police officers “turned on” them as they reported on protests in Washington DC.
Brace and Timothy Myers ACS were reporting live from the White House to provide an update on the ongoing protests at Washington DC when they were aggressively pushed and hit by heavily-armed police.
The incident occurred at 6:30 pm as police began shoving crowds 30 minutes before a curfew was due to come into effect and went to air live on Australian television.
Appearing on Sunrise this morning, Brace said they were both “worse for wear” today, admitting they were probably running on “adrenaline” in the wake of the attack.
"I can feel across the back of my shoulders where I got whacked by the baton, and we have these welts from the rubber bullets - it's similar to if you got shot too closely by a paintball gun," the reporter explained.
"We just are glad that the bullets were rubber and not real bullets - I would have panicked if I hadn't realised that it was not a real bullet."
While Brace was in the firing line of police yesterday, it was Myers that appeared to have suffered the most, with footage showing an officer hitting him with a riot shield before punching him in the face.
"He's a bit flat today - but the way Tim handled the situation yesterday was just amazing," Brace said of her colleague.
"He really copped it at the start there, and then to go on to get rubber bullets to the back and then the tear gas... We had to really keep our heads down to try to avoid the gases as we were trying to sneak through the crowd, just desperately trying to get away from those police officers.
"It was a terrifying experience, but we came through it, and an hour later, I finally had a chance to give him a hug and say, 'Are you OK?'"
Brace, who is a full-time US correspondent for Seven News, was disappointed by what she had witnessed that day.
"I am really disappointed... It's not just about the media and the fact that we were attacked while we were doing our job, but it's the fact that it was before curfew," she told Sunrise hosts David Koch and Samantha Armytage.
"Every single person had a legal right to be there and to see these people tear-gassed, to make way for a photo opportunity for the president, is just outrageous.
"This is not the United States that I know at the moment. It's a police state, martial law, and to see civilians treated like that is really upsetting."