US Park Police used excessive force against journalists during George Floyd protests, inquiry finds

WASHINGTON — An internal investigation has concluded that U.S. Park Police used unnecessary force in a confrontation with two Australian journalists three years ago during the George Floyd protests near the White House.

The report by the Department of the Interior’s Inspector General, released to the public Wednesday, determines that two unidentified members of the Park Police overstepped their guidelines and training in their encounter with the journalists, who were not named in the report. An Associated Press story at the time identified them as reporter Amelia Brace and cameraman Tim Myers, who were reporting live on the protests for Australia’s Channel 7.

One officer struck Brace with a baton and the other struck Myers with a riot shield and pushed his camera. The report notes that USPP guidelines call for its officers to use “only the minimum level of reasonable force necessary to control a situation.”

Applying that standard, the report concludes that the officer identified as “Officer 1” followed those guidelines when using their shield to shove Myers back but violated them later in shoving Myers’ camera. The second officer’s actions were determined to be clearly out-of-bounds, for striking Brace with a baton as she appeared to be running

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