After 18 blocks of running from the police an undercover cop gives me advice on where to escape.
I was on the front lines of the police advance taking photos. After the police had pushed the protesters for 18 blocks I went off to the side to put film in my camera. I noticed a middle aged man sitting by himself about 50 feet from the main group of protesters. I approached him cautiously and asked if he was with the media. He replied 'yes', and said nothing else. He did not look like a reporter- he had no camera or notebook. He didn't look like a police officer- he was wearing a camo vest and jeans- until I noticed an earpiece leading from his ear down into his shirt. My heart skipped- I was talking to an undercover police officer. I then asked him what he thought was going to happen. he replied, "They are going to flank the sides, seal the rear, then arrest everyone. The best way out would be to go north down that street." I decided to get out. As I jogged down a side street and through some yards, I saw city transportation buses filled with military police streaming in one after another. I saw literally 40 police cars go by.
I put my mask and goggles away and tried to look normal as possible. I met up with a 5 other protesters from colorado trying to escape the brutality. Just as we were talking about how much we didn't want to get arrested, an unmarked white car screeched perpendicular into the sidewalk, just feet away from us. All four doors swung open and five fully armed police stormed out, yelling for everyone to get on the ground. When you are scared, instinct tells you to either fight or run. I took one look at the well armed gestapo storm troopers. I turned and took off. I looked back once and saw the police violently throwing the other kids to the ground and handcuffing them. As I ran I yelled to other protesters that they were randomly arresting people. I jumped a 10 foot fence into a graveyard and helped another girl climb over. We hid for 2 hours watching dozens of police cars from a distance flash by on the streets. As night fell the spotlights from helicopters scoured the ground, so we hid under a low overhanging roof. Later I directed my friends to where I was and hopped into a van and sped away. Sustaining six rubber bullet wounds, narrowly escaping arrest and seeing what a police state actually looks like made for a very surreal and traumatic experience.
The scariest part is how little coverage there is in main stream media. And the little there is focuses on how the police are fighting back violent protesters. I am a student on a college campus, where people are usually quite well informed. But no one knows what happened in Miami. We need to spread the word, encourage discussion and discourse, raise awareness and prepare for next time.
Send this link of my photos from the front lines to your friends, family, classmates, coworkers- tell the world what happened!