Video shows an Australian TV crew being shoved by riot police carrying shields during a live broadcast

• Video shows an Australian reporter and cameraman being shoved by heavily armed officers in Washington, DC, during protests on Monday.
• The incident occurred while Amelia Brace, the US correspondent for 7News Australia, and her cameraman Tim Myers were covering the protests live on air.
• An officer dressed in riot gear can be seen in the video shoving Myers with a shield and hitting his camera.
• "You heard us yelling there that we were media, but they don't care, they are being indiscriminate at the moment," she said of the officers.

Video shows an Australian reporter and cameraman being shoved by heavily armed officers in Washington, DC, on Monday as they were covering protests over George Floyd's death.

Floyd, a black man, died after being knelt on by police during an arrest last week. The video of Floyd's violent arrest was widely shared across social media and has since sparked protests across the US.

Protests escalated in Washington on Monday, following Sunday clashes between police and protesters that resulted in tear gas being fired and national landmarks being vandalized.

Protesters gathered behind barriers set up in Lafayette Square, which is located near the White House, on Monday evening ahead of a press briefing by President Donald Trump.

The protest was peaceful until law enforcement charged into the crowd, moving protesters away from the White House area and onto the streets of DC.

Amelia Brace, the US correspondent for 7News Australia, and her cameraman Tim Myers were caught up in the scuffle as they were covering the protests live on air.

Video posted to Twitter by 7News program "Sunrise" showed the incident as it unfolded:

In the video, Brace and Myers are recording the protests from behind a cement structure.

"We've just had to run a block as police moved in," she said during the broadcast.

"We've been fired at with rubber bullets, my cameraman has been hit, we've also seen tear gas being used," she said, moments before police charged on the crowd.

An officer dressed in riot gear can be seen in the video approaching Myers and hitting the camera before the sound of the broadcast is cut. Brace and Myers were back on camera moments later, assuring their colleagues in Sydney that they were safe.

"You heard us yelling there that we were media, but they don't care, they are being indiscriminate at the moment," she said as she composed herself.

Ben Seigel, a reporter for local news station WJLA, posted a video to Twitter showing another angle of the police altercation:

In the above video, an officer can be seen hitting Myers with a shield and punching his camera.

"There was no choice but for us to hide in that corner and hope they would pass by... as you saw in those pictures, they did not," Brace later told "Sunrise" after they were moved to safety.

The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia and the National Guard did not immediately respond to Insider with more information on the incident.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the confrontation as "disturbing" and called for an investigation. Australian opposition leader Anthony Albanese called the actions "completely unacceptable" and called for the Australian ambassador to step in.

The incident follows several other attacks on journalists during heightened protests. Insider reporter Alex Nicoll compiled instances in the past week of journalists being shot, arrested, or beaten while covering the unrest.