The Barcelona-based team of photographer Emilio Morenatti, video journalist Renata Brito and reporter Joseph Wilson took readers and viewers on a nighttime police crackdown against violators of the city’s curfew, intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Ride-alongs are rare in Spain and no other media has had such access to document the police sweep of late-night partygoers. Morenatti and Brito gained exclusive access as Catalonia's regional police, the Mossos d'Esquadra, enforced the 10 p.m. curfew. The pair shared their images and notes with Wilson, who crafted a colorful text story.
Photos and video of police chasing and detaining youth in narrow alleys were widely used both in Spain and abroad, giving AP clients unmatched coverage.
A man removes his shirt after being detained by the regional police of Catalonia, Mossos D'Esquadra, after curfew in Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 1, 2020. Despite general adherence to the recently reimposed curfews in Spain, police patrolling Barcelona are still finding violators, usually partygoers, after 10:00 p.m.
AP Photo / Emilio Morenatti
A man is detained by the regional police of Catalonia, Mossos D'Esquadra, after curfew in Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 1, 2020.
AP Photo / Emilio Morenatti
A man is detained by the regional police of Catalonia, Mossos D'Esquadra, after curfew in Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 1, 2020.
AP Photo / Emilio Morenatti
People are detained and inspected by the regional police of Catalonia, Mossos D'Esquadra, after the recently reimpoised 10 p.m. curfew in Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 1, 2020.
AP Photo / Emilio Morenatti