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Pinned down

In this picture, University of Texas police (UTPD) officers are pinning a protester on the concrete sidewalk and zip-tying them.

Manoo Sirivelu | The Daily Texan, University of Texas at Austin

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/may/02/university-protests-gaza-student-pictures

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In this picture, University of Texas police (UTPD) officers are pinning a protester on the concrete sidewalk and zip-tying them. Law enforcement would push in at intervals and surround the protesters, 360 degrees. Nearby crowds and media often couldn’t see the full extent of the force used and how the protesters were being detained. I wanted to show the feelings of imprisonment and suffocation that the students were experiencing, so I tried to depict the officers’ legs as bars that were already surrounding the student. I was beside the student in this picture when the arrest was made and a UTPD officer had pushed me down while trying to make space. I was lying on the ground with a wall of cops between me and the student when I sat up to take this picture, not more than five feet away from her. I was shocked from being pushed to the ground when I met her gaze and realized we were close enough to make eye contact. I felt needed to take a picture that would encapsulate both her feelings and my own. It shows how unnecessary the force used in these arrests was. Our cameras bear the responsibility of recording the events – to allow the viewers to see, and, most importantly, place themselves in our point of view with a space for empathy that a photo like this provides.
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