Astonishing moment US riot cops rush at young mother protesting against police brutality – before throwing her in cell for 24 hours
The iconic photo of Leshia Evans standing in front of a line of heavily armed police perfectly captures the spirit of the Black Lives Matter movement
SOMETIMES it takes just one image to perfectly capture the spirit and power of a movement.
The picture of Leshia Evans peacefully protesting in Louisiana has become one such photo.
Photographer Jonathan Bachman who took the photo while working for Reuters, told Buzzfeed that protesters were blocking traffic on a highway when officers dressed in full riot gear showed up and told them to move to the footpath.
The 28-year-old mother was one protester who refused to budge.
She was handcuffed and marched off to the cells where she would spend the next 24 hours.
After leaving prison, Evans said she was acting as a ‘vessel’ for God during the confrontation.
Writing on Facebook, she said: “I just need you people to know I appreciate the well wishes and love, but this is the work of God.
‘I am a vessel! Glory to the most high! I’m glad I’m alive and safe. And that there were no casualties that I have witnessed first hand.’
She earlier said her arrest was a little rough. Police records show she was thrown in jail overnight before being released on Sunday.
She is now in staying a hotel recovering from her ordeal.
A lifelong friend of Evans said the nurse had travelled to Baton Rouge from New York to protest against the police shooting of black man Alton Sterling.
She decided to take a stance because she wanted a ‘better future’ for her five-year-old son.
Natasha Haynes told : “She’s a vision with a beautiful heart and peaceful stance in life.
“She’s everything to me and I’m just happy she’s safe, not hurt and – most importantly – happy that she got up and did something about injustices here in the States.”
The image of her resolute defiance in the face of the heavily armed officers has already been described as “legendary” and “powerful”.
“Look at her posture,” one person wrote on a Facebook post by New York Daily News reporter Shaun King.
“She is balanced, powerful, upright and well grounded with both feet firmly planted on the earth.”
“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,” Jami West continued.
“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.”
Others on Twitter compared the image to the other famous protest picture captured in Tinanamen Square, while others noted how ridiculous the heavy-handed response looked.
The extreme-looking response to the lone woman captures perfectly the criticism that many are making about police brutality.
Tensions between black citizens and police rose over the past week or so amid police shootings of African-American men in Minnesota and Louisiana, and the gunning down of five white police officers by a black suspect in Dallas in apparent retaliation.
During the protest outside Baton Rouge police headquarters on Saturday, nearly 1000 people protested, leading to the arrest of almost 100 people.
Most of those arrested were from Louisiana and faced a single charge of obstructing a highway.
Police began releasing those who were arrested on Sunday afternoon including the woman who features in the photo, and prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckeesson.
“We are on the verge of a national uprising. It’s already underway, but is growing by the hour.
All we have ever asked for is justice,” King wrote on his Facebook page.
“I think by this time next week, this entire nation is going to be gripped with protests over police brutality.”