PROTESTOR FACES DOWN RIOT POLICE

The themes of Wednesday's protests (8/16/2000), were the issues of Police Brutality, the Death Penalty, Political Prisoners, and mass incarceration. At the Staples Center, some 2,000 LAPD Riot Squad Officers were deployed to intimidate the demonstrators. The LAPD were heavily armed with 12 Gauge Shotguns, Tear Gas guns, and Rubber Bullet guns. I took this photograph of a protestor soon after he donned his Gasmask. During one tense moment, protestors felt the Police were ready to attack them... but rather than disperse or back down, they instead suited up to be gassed, putting on Gasmasks and taking out vinegar soaked rags to breathe through. For more photographs and artworks dedicated to social justice, please visit the ART FOR A CHANGE Web site!