Former Albany man watches history unfold from behind the lens

From the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City to ground zero of the US race protests in Minneapolis, Cameron Wallis has spent the past two months “witnessing history unfold” from behind the lens. Australian journalists made global headlines last week when they were assaulted by police during a Black Lives Matter protest in Washington, live on national television. That chaotic moment was an insight into a powerful movement gripping the US, one that has seen millions of Americans take to the streets over the past two weeks to demand justice. The nation erupted into protests on March 25 when George Floyd, 46, was killed by police officer Derek Chauvin, who pinned him to the ground and knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Since then, police attacks on members of the press have been a concerning and recurring theme of the protests. But speaking from Minneapolis, the place of Mr Floyd’s death, former Albany man and Seven News camera operator Wallis said the press “was not the story” of the protests. Working with the Seven US Bureau chief, Perth’s Ashlee Mullany, Wallis has been on the front line of two of the world’s biggest stories in recent weeks. In New York, he captured the drama and tragedy of the COVID-19 crisis, at one point spending 24 hours with paramedics responding to COVID-19 emergencies. On the first night of the protests in Minneapolis, hundreds took over the police station, some capitalising on what started as a peaceful movement by looting stores and smashing windows, leaving parts of the city in tatters. “People were walking around shooting handguns in the air,” Wallis said. “It was a pretty scary moment and we got to a point where we thought it was just not safe enough for us to be there.” In the days that followed, protestors were met by the National Guard and police armed with tear gas, foam grenades and “pepper balls” filled with mace. “The 8pm curfew was called, the protesters were warned and it got really messy,” Wallis said. “That night was the first night we were tear-gassed by the police. “I wear a vest, helmet, goggles and a mask — even with all of that on, I still felt the effects. “We saw people that night vomiting because they had so much tear gas in their mouth and their eyes.” Wallis and Mullany found themselves caught in the crossfire between fleeing protestors and heavily armed police. “The fact that we were press really didn’t seem to make a difference,” Wallis said. “They started throwing tear gas, stun grenades and shooting the pepper balls at us. Ash got hit in the arm, I got hit in the back. “It was like nothing I had ever experienced before.” A few States over in Washington DC, two of Wallis’ colleagues were also targeted by police in an incident that caught the attention of Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Caught in a stampede of protestors running from police, camera operator Tim Myers was hit in the stomach with a shield, then punched in the face before another officer struck reporter Amelia Brace in the back with a baton. “It was so unnecessary and so abhorrent that people who are meant to protect people would assault media like that,” Mr Wallis said. After international outrage, the officers have been put on administrative leave while the case is reviewed. “But we are not the story. The story is that African Americans and other minorities have been oppressed in America for the last 400 years,” Wallis said. “You can really see on the ground here, that this is the last opportunity that a lot of people feel they have to make an everlasting change to the future of American society. “People are genuinely angry here and they have every right to be.” Wallis said he saw some of the most powerful moments of his career while walking the streets of Minneapolis. At the site of Mr Floyd’s death, there is a makeshift memorial bursting with flowers, colour and life. “It is a truly remarkable thing to behold. There were people dancing, debating, passing around free food and looking after each other,” Wallis said. “Everyone is coming together to rebuild and to celebrate George Floyd’s life.”