Fading Away
The sun had barely risen as I stood alone outside the fortified ICE facility in Portland, Oregon, last month. The concrete walls, cameras, and directional microphones seemed to stare down at me. I raised both hands — palms open — not out of fear, but out of obligation. I had come with a message about truth, restraint, and the slow deterioration of the First Amendment.
A Citizen Journalist
As a San Diego Police Officer for over 24 years, I have frequently led the police response to mostly peaceful and some violent civil disturbances. There are few jobs where you can occasionally sit in the front row of life and still make a living. I find that by deploying alone to these riots or other breaking news stories, I can also assist the other news reporters in getting the truth out.
Eight Hours Inside the Pacific Palisades Wildfire
A tiny child’s shoe lay in the gutter outside a house, as the neighborhood around it is engulfed in flames and smoke. As I watched firefighters scramble to control the flames of the house across the street, I couldn’t help but think of all the people who had rushed to evacuate their homes as the spread of the Pacific Palisades wildfire exploded.
The 2021 Presidential Inauguration
"Don't go to Washington!" My older brother Johns' voice was firm and unwavering as he provided me with a long list of reasons why it was too dangerous for me to visit Washington, DC, due to the recent civil unrest and an ongoing worldwide pandemic.
As a civil disturbance expert and independent journalist, I could feel the guttural draw to personally witness history at our nation's capital while also increasing my expertise in civil disturbance preparations.
You’re now Entering the Autonomous Zone!
I was a bit uneasy as I approached the Capitol Hill Organized Protest Zone (CHOP) or the "Autonomous Zone" in Seattle, Washington. I was alone and on foot without a cover unit and with my retired SDPD Lieutenant's badge and identification card hidden deep inside my backpack. Despite being licensed to carry a concealed firearm, I was unarmed. I was strictly here as a witness to history.
The Fire Bombing : They said “Never Happened”
While holding my I-Phone 11 inside the fortified fence line in the early morning hours, I saw the flames flickering on the lit rag attached to the glass Molotov cocktail, as it tumbled awkwardly over the fence directed at the Federal Officers. When it struck the heavily scarred concrete walkway, it shattered. The accelerant exploded with a flash of light with flames that quickly lept up into the night sky as the combustible material burned rapidly. The men and women risking their lives protecting the U.S. Courthouse were silhouetted by the flames and the thick dark smoke as it began belching into the warm and humid Portland, Oregon night air.
My Time in Kenosha, Wisconsin
After spending a day and evening reporting on the protests at the 2020 Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, I changed my plans and traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin. It had surprisingly become our nation's latest hot spot for civil unrest and rioting following a police shooting.