I don't know how it is for other photographers but every once in a while I will see something that just grabs my attention and screams "Get a shot of this!" That first photo falls into that category, it's from June 1st of this year, the fifth day of protests here in Louisville. Early that morning National Guardsmen had shot and killed local business owner David McAtee and then LMPD left his body lying in the street for over 12 hours. That evening we set out to march to the scene of the shooting and along the way I passed this gentleman. He was standing quietly, stock still at the edge of the road watching as we marched passed. It was only as I was passing him that I realized what he was wearing and I knew I had to double back and get a shot.
I'm not for sure if you can tell from this shot but the patch on his right breast is the combat infantryman's badge and to get that you have to get shot at, and if I'm reading that rank insignia correctly he is/was a sergeant major. I'm still not sure what it was about him that grabbed my attention but to me at least, seeing him standing there observing the march was powerful.
Usually the interactions between protesters and police here are quite tense and at least a bit hostile but that march didn't quite fit the norm. I still don't know why (I suspect it was a deescalation tactic inspired by the pressure being put on LMPD in the aftermath of shooting) but for some reason three officers marched with protesters that day. In the photo above two talk with marchers during a halt in the march. Needless to say we were all suspicious of their presence, this was the same time period where cops were kneeling and marching for photo ops and then tear gassing and arresting people an hour later.
I don't know if it was due to the cops marching with us or the helicopters and drones shadowing our every move but this march was allowed to proceed unhindered even though we were out an about well past curfew. Well, at least until we made it back to the park where the march started from, then it got a little more interesting. While choppers and drones hovered overhead and snipers gazed down from rooftops an almost party-like atmosphere prevailed at ground level. Cars filled the streets honking horns, people milled about chanting and waving signs, bottles and blunts surreptitiously changed hands and there was a general sense of releasing a bit of the tension built up over the previous days.
Eventually LMPD could contain themselves no longer and the flashing lights, flashbangs, and tear gas appeared. We all made our way out of downtown as best we could and got some rest so we could do it all again the next day.