Well, the fun is beginning! I heard about these Greenpeace folks while I was getting my oil changed this morning, so I headed down with my trusty D100 to see if I could snap a couple pictures:
The G-20 is a gathering of world leaders here in Pittsburgh tomorrow and Friday. People have been freaking out about the protesters and possibility of violence ever since this was announced earlier in the year. It shall be an interesting couple days around here! I'm planning to spend the rest of the week cowering in my basement, in the fetal position :)
Once it gets rolling, get embedded and leave your wallet/id at home!!!
They tend to be very very interesting events. Expect rioting, lots of hippies, and lots of anarchist.
You can end up getting arrested at this type of event very easily, as the police are usually in panic mode and arrest anyone and everyone if something occurs.
If you do plan on documenting everything, try and get with a group that appears organized, and see if they have obtained legal counsel, and express interest in documenting them, in the event that you get snatched up, you can save yourself some legal fees!
Also, bandannas, sunglasses, goggles, etc...if the smoke/tear/pepper gas start flowin.
...the police are usually in panic mode and arrest anyone and everyone if something occurs.
No, I don't expect that to be the case, actually. From what I've been hearing, the police will be as tolerant of protesters as they can possibly be, because it's when they start arresting "anyone and everyone" that things get completely out of hand.
Im sure thats always the game plan, but it only takes one bad egg to get everyone riled up and things quickly turn. Who knows though, I mean its not like I hope for that to happen, im just saying from past summits in the US, it usually takes a turn for the worse at some point.
the police are usually in panic mode and arrest anyone and everyone if something occurs.
... Just a bit of a generalization don't you think. There are laws and procedural guidelines regarding powers of arrest, crowd control and the like.
Originally posted by AJSullivan:
Also, bandannas, sunglasses, goggles, etc...if the smoke/tear/pepper gas start flowin.
Really should not be an issue since the police will give you ample warning of their intentions. The use of such items is usually a last resort thing and the police will have (assuming you are listening) provided you with a warning that they intend to use these mechanisms.
Im not talking about when people are protesting and things are going smoothly. Im talking about in the event of things taking a turn for the worst, thats when the above mentioned things come into play.
Im not saying cops are going to show up and just start arresting everyone for no reason, but when it turns into a riot situation, things get a little hectic and its very easy to end up with your hands in plastic ties behind your back, simply based on being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I am very very very pro-cop, but I'm speaking about what has seemed to occur at these events for the past 10 years. Hell the Seattle one was quite interesting...an organized anarchist group (wait is that possible??) throwing molatovs, flipping cars, throwing bricks, etc.
