CNN’s Jake Tapper and Don Lemon were reporting live from West Florissant Ave. in Ferguson, Missouri when the situation between protesters and the police escalated late Monday night. They were reporting on the stand-off between police on one side of the street and the protesters on the other, when canisters began to fly.
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According to the reporters, one or more protesters instigated the attack by throwing something at the police; possibly a glass bottle. The police responded by launching stun grenades and canisters of tear gas toward the protesters — and CNN’s coverage team.
The gambit by the police proved effective, as the crowd dispersed. Tapper said that the entire team got hit by the tear gas. While discussing what happened in detail, he encountered a photographer who was hit particularly hard by the gas. Lying on the ground, he had milk poured into his eyes to try and alleviate some of the symptoms.
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“The photographer is making his way away, as are a lot of journalists who were hit by the tear gas,” Tapper said.
