The Blue Hand is a short video and photographic essay that explores the impacts policing has on marginalized communities in Los Angeles County. Set within the context of the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement, the short centers around the story of Jermaine Welch, a 38 year-old Black man who was shot six times on June 3rd in South Central LA. Jermaine woke up hospitalized and implicated in his own shooting by the Los Angeles Police Department. The Blue Hand follows Jermaine’s struggles with trauma, systemic persecution and his personal well-being after being shot. As Jermaine’s story unfolds, the ongoing investigation into the officer-involved shooting that occurred on the same block where Jermaine was shot, is questioned as a way to show the type of impunity that the police hold in the community. The Blue Hand offers viewers an understanding of the power dynamics between the police and communities who cannot call them for help. At the same time, it brings awareness to the often unchecked amount of discretion that the police have and the patterns of abuse resulting from policing.
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 Angeles
The corner where Jermaine was shot, and where an LAPD officer fired multiple shots into a crowd.
87th Street and Broadway, South Central Los Angeles
A 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.
Ben Camacho 