by Joe Siegel

San Francisco Bay Times contributing photographer Jerry Parmer captured an unforgettable image while covering an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest outside a military base last October in Oakland, Calif. A pastor named Jorge Bautista was shot in the face with a projectile fired by an ICE officer.

The photo, which later blew up on social media, depicted the brutality of ICE agents and how far they are willing to go to silence protests.

Protestors, who had been gathering outside the base since early in the morning, saw a fleet of SUVs arriving. An agent, armed with bear spray, climbed out of the lead vehicle and approached the protestors.

Parmer recalled hearing “two or three flash-bang grenades go off about 15 or 20 feet from where I was standing. That immediately sent people running. People backed away. I saw the opening so I went in closer to get a better view of what was going on and I kept taking pictures. I saw this guy with a grenade launcher, that’s a modified M-320 grenade launcher fitted with non-lethal munitions. [The ICE officer] walks forward to about five feet from [Bautista], raises the weapon and shoots him right in the face. It was a projectile. I saw it bounce off of his face.”

“It was pretty intense,” Parmer continued. “I just kept shooting pictures and then people grabbed [Bautista] and hustled him out of the way, took him to the other side of the street where he got some medical attention. I saw that he had lacerations on his chin. His face was covered with this pepper powder or whatever it was.”

Parmer’s photos appeared in The Oaklandside, a local nonprofit news outlet, and the San Francisco Bay Times. Bautista has since filed a lawsuit against the government. He is seeking $5 million in damages.

According to The Oaklandside: “On Jan. 27, Bautista’s lawyer, EmilyRose Johns, filed what’s called a Standard Form 95, the first step for any plaintiff who wants to sue a federal agency. In an attached letter to the complaint, filed with the District Court Litigation Division, Johns details the extent of Bautista’s injuries, saying he was ‘quickly unable to breathe because of the chemical agent and believed he would die from asphyxia,’ and he ‘experienced trouble breathing following the assault, and he continues to experience severe trauma from the memory of the assault and his fear that he would die.’”

During the attack, Parmer was focused on getting the photos. He said he was not concerned about his own safety.

“You get a heightened sense of awareness. When [ICE] started with the bear spray and the pepper munitions, I was kind of being aware of all that.”

Parmer’s photograph of Bautista being shot went viral with eight or nine million views on Reddit and several thousand shares.

Parmer experienced what he refers to as a “post-trauma” response in the days after the protest. He remembered a protest a few weeks earlier, when another pastor was shot in the face with a pepper ball.

“It was happening right in front of me and it’s traumatizing. I’ve had nightmares about this stuff before I even witnessed it firsthand. It’s so upsetting to see this [on television]. I got a little emotional, I got a little choked up. All I could think about was ‘I hope my photos help somehow.’”

Parmer called Bautista a few days later and offered to be a witness if his lawsuit went to court. Parmer sent photos to Bautista’s attorney’s office.

Parmer believes the government’s assaults on people’s rights will “spill over.”

“[ICE is attacking] cops, they’re doing it to anybody that’s brown or black,” Parmer noted. “It was obviously pre-planned and orchestrated. These folks are coming in with the intention to violate our rights. It’s clear as day.”

Parmer vows not to let ICE intimidate him from covering protests.

“I fully intend to continue being out there with my camera. I carry pepper spray and eye protection when I go out now.”

IN THE NEWS
Volume 28
Issue 1