Even though reporters are generally comfortable with a degree of uncertainty on assignment, or thrive on that sensation of being at the edge of an unfolding drama, a journalist can sometimes get caught off-guard when a peaceful gathering turns into a chilling, riot-like situation in the span of a few seconds.
I discovered this first-hand on what turned out to be one of the most memorable reporting assignments during my stint as a foreign correspondent covering the U.S.: the August 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida.
As Hurricane Isaac lashed Tampa with hard rain, and menacing thunderstorms, the vicinity of the Convention became the site of a tense face-off between heavily armed police and protesters of the Occupy movement. Unexpectedly, I found myself right in the middle of it.
In planning my coverage of the event, I was keen to bring a flavour of not only the proceedings at the Convention Centre but the protests outside too. I initially walked alongside the protesters as they kicked off their march.
Scarcely half a mile down the road towards the Tampa Convention Centre, they faced an impermeable wall of riot police, some mounted on horses and others with large rifles and a variety of other firearms.
Initially the protesters’ mood was light. They laughed and joked, and some even tried to shake hands with the police officers.
Suddenly, as the march inched closer to the Convention Centre, the mood shifted. The police started forming tight circles with the protesters barricaded inside, effectively halting their advance.
Amidst the protesters screaming, “Let us out! Let us march!” and the police yelling, “Back down! Get back!” from behind polycarbonate riot shields, I was completely boxed in. I prepared myself for a charge by the police and clutched my media tag a little tighter.
Tense minutes ticked by in this hostile atmosphere before, miraculously, gentle rain that had started pattering down on the heaving crowd soon gathered into a heavy downpour. Instantly, everyone seemed calmer. The protesters sat where they were, and the police, after hovering about, began dispersing and removing barricades.
With the adrenalin still pumping in my veins, I tailed the protesters for a bit and watched them dance with abandon in the rain, now pouring down in sheets. Clearly, they had no trouble shaking off this near-encounter with the strong arm of the law.