Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke during a press conference in Canberra, Australia, on 15 May. Rohan Thomson / Getty Images
Australian reporters from Channel 7 affiliate CNN news were attacked by riot police in Washington, DC, on Monday, prompting Prime Minister Scott Morrison to call for an investigation into “disturbing incidents.”
During a live morning news broadcast on the Sunrise program on Tuesday in Australia, riot police used their shields to clear 7NEWS US Correspondent Amelia Brace and cameraman Tim Myers from the scene.
The video shows riot police beating Myers and punching his camera, another officer then directs the couple, trapped on the wall, to move on, before appearing to hit Brace in the back with a stick.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said that Morrison had “contacted the Australian Embassy in Washington, DC on Tuesday to instruct them to investigate the ‘disturbing’ incident and provide further advice on registering the concerns of the Australian government.”
Payne added in an interview with National Radio on Tuesday that “I would like to get further advice on how we will register Australia’s strong concerns with responsible local authorities in Washington.”
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade “reaches Amelia and Tim, the Channel Seven team, to check their welfare through the embassy and Channel Seven in Australia,” Payne said.
On Tuesday morning in an interview with Sunrise after the incident, Brace told the anchor that “we have regrouped, we are not too bad.”
“Actually it was the tear gas that made you the most, it was very difficult to keep talking in that situation. But yes we were a bit sick, I also managed to get a rubber bullet in the back and Tim got one behind the neck. So we will have a few bruises tomorrow “But we feel very safe,” he said.
“There was no way out at the time, we had nat guards behind us, the police came so fast that there was no place for us to go,” Brace added.
