The powerful photo that sums up the US conflict over police brutality moves America

US: The spirit and power of a movement was perfectly captured of a woman peacefully protesting in Louisiana on Saturday. The image of Baton Rouge Police officers all dressed in riot regalia confronting a woman, who is wearing a summer dress and standing firmly but calmly on the road, has quickly become a powerful symbol of the conflict that has been plaguing the US recently.


According to the photographer, Jonathan Bachman who captured the moment that has gone viral on the internet, the protesters were standing on the way of traffic on a highway when police officers dressed in full riot regalia showed up and ordered them to move to the footpath. But the woman standing in the photo refused to move.

“She just stood there and made her stand. I was just happy to be able to capture something like that,” Bachman said.

The image of her resolute defiance in the face of the heavily armed officers has already been described as “legendary” and “powerful”.

One person wrote on a Facebook post by New York Daily News reporter Shaun King;

“Look at her posture,”

“She is balanced, powerful, upright and well grounded with both feet firmly planted on the earth.”

Jamie West added;

“Look at the line made from the crown of her head to the heels of her feet. She is only protected by the force of her own personal power,”

“By contrast, the officers have the transitory, temporary, protection of their equipment that will be removed at the end of their shift. They are rocked back on their heels, knocked off balance, and appear about to fall over backward, just from the power of her.

“This is a legendary picture. It will be in history and art books from this time.”

Some Twitter users were quick to compare the image to other famous protest picture captured in Tinanamen Square, while others mentioned how ridiculous the heavy-handed response seemed.

 

Over the past week, tensions were high between black communities and police amid police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana, and the killing of five white police officers by a black suspect in Dallas.

Nearly 100 people took part in a protest outside Baton Rouge police headquarters on Saturday, leading to the arrest of almost 100 people.
Majority of those arrested were from Louisiana who were charged for obstructing a highway. On Sunday, police began releasing those who were arrested including the woman in the photo, and famous Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckeesson.