The Blue Hand is a documentary about Jermaine Welch, a 40 year old Black man from South Central LA who was shot six times on June 3, 2020 by an unknown person. Welch was implicated in a police shooting by the Los Angeles Police Department and struggles to navigate the physical recovery and public housing system. In the story, we look at how even though denouncing his longtime CRIP affiliation and attempting to redeem himself through advocating for education in his neighborhood, Welch finds that the LAPD view him in the same light when he is served a search warrant. The warrant is found to be part of a pattern of LAPD’s negligence towards warrant procedures that adversely impact 4th amendment rights.
This project is ongoing and is a finalist for a Pulitzer Center grant.
A trailer has been embedded below.
Jermaine Welch, the evening we met, protesting during the George Floyd uprising.
Downtown Los AngelesThe corner where Jermaine was shot, and where an LAPD officer fired multiple shots into a crowd.
87th Street and Broadway, South Central Los AngelesA 9mm bullet Jermaine found lodged in his car’s body. Jermaine sitting in his car in the parking lot of Southwest College, where he attended earlier in his life. Jermaine, according to the campus officer, is the reason the school began a green initiative. Driver’s side window frame bullet hole. Jermaine’s blood on his steering wheel. The seat and cupholders soaked as well. Staples from a bullet removal operation. Jermaine waiting at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Hospital for his cast removal. His wrist and hand suffered two gun shots. Jermaine in his Dodge Charger, which became his home after being shot.