Los Angeles Riots 1992
I worked as an EMT for a private ambulance company during the late 80s and early 90s. I also took my first photography class in 1990, then took two semesters of photojournalism.
On April 30th, 1992, I was stationed in the city of Hawthorne, but we contracted with the Los Angeles County Fire Department and covered the same area as the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Lennox Station. If you don't know anything about L.A., this area was part of the major drug and gang wars that were going on during that era.
After standing by at a fire station in Lennox, we were told to move up to another station in the Athens area. Along the way, I would have my partner stop here and there so I could take photos of everything that was going on. Getting the photograph wasn't the challenging part here; it was trying to make sure you didn't get shot, robbed, or beaten by the mobs that were looting stores nearby and setting them on fire as well.
As soon as we left this scene, the mob turned on my partner and me. They started throwing rocks, bottles, and whatever else they could get their hands on at our ambulance, while also swarming around it. We had just watched Reginald Denny get pulled out of his big rig truck the day before, so I had no doubt that the mob would do the same to us if they managed to open the doors. I flipped on the lights and siren and told my partner to drive over the crowd if they didn't get out of the way. Luckily for us, they parted and we got the hell out of there.
I'm lucky to be alive today, and to have captured another moment of history.
Camera used was a Nikon N6006 with a 50mm f/1.8 D lens. Shot on fuji film, but I don't remember the settings or ISO at all.
This would kill it in a photojournalism contest for sure! Such an insane photo!