IN 2012…
The Space Shuttle Enterprise “flew” over New York City…
Penn State players celebrate after their 24-21 overtime win in their season finale against Wisconsin at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa., on Saturday, November 24, 2012. In their first season since the child sex abuse scandal and the death of longtime coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions rallied behind their senior class and new coach Bill O’Brien to finish the year 9-4. FOR THE DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS — JEFF LAUTENBERGER
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Texas Rangers designated hitter Josh Hamilton walks to the dugout after his second strikeout against the Detroit Tigers on June 27, 2012 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
This story ran well after I left Dallas. It was a pleasure to hang out with Clyde for several hours, watching the master go through all the motions of preparing true, traditional barbecue. Every barbecue man I’ve ever met (and I’ve met a lot) has been a character, and Clyde was no exception. He told a ton of stories and anecdotes and he’s had a colorful past. Hopefully his comeback is successful. And yes, after getting my sample the next day made sure to drop a Hamilton into the tip jar.
Pitmaster Clyde Biggins walks around stacks of oak wood in his front yard after preparing his smoker to barbecue on July 26, 2012. Biggins, who once ran a barbecue shack in Dallas, is attempting a professional comeback after being sentenced in 1993 to 20 years in prison for his role in a drug ring. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
Pitmaster Clyde Biggins grabs several racks of pork ribs out of a cooler before preparing them to smoke on July 26, 2012. Biggins went on to seasoned the meat with only a blend of salt, pepper and chili powder, denouncing many of the more complex rubs and marinades commonly used today. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
Pitmaster Clyde Biggins enlists the help of his daughter to rinse of pork ribs with a hose before smoking them on July 26, 2012. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
A shaft of afternoon light is visible through the smoke as Clyde Biggins places beef briskets on his smoker on July 26, 2012. In preparing his traditional Texas-style brisket, Biggins simply broke open the cryovac packer briskets and set them on his hot smoker. No salt or pepper to be found, just smoke. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
Pitmaster Clyde Biggins serves barbecue to a crowd of friends from his trailer hitch on July 27, 2012. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
Pitmaster Clyde Biggins serves barbecue on July 27, 2012. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
A jar full of tips sits on a table as Clyde Biggins serves barbecue from his front yard on July 27, 2012. Earlier this year, he set up his pit on an East Oak Cliff corner and sold barbecue off the street. Police shut down his business because he didn’t have the required food service permit or enclosed kitchen area to cook the food. He’s been looking into how to make his barbecue business legal. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
I don’t often get the opportunity to cover spot news, and after photographing a shooting that nearly sparked a riot in south Dallas, I’m kind of okay with that. This was one of the only times I have ever felt physically unsafe and in danger on assignment. Staffer Tom Fox and I arrived at the scene pretty early on, when neighbors were just starting to disperse from a semi-violent standoff with police. It was an angry crowd, made up of a majority of people who did not want police there, and a fair share of others who were anti-media as well. Others were somewhat more cooperative and generously helpful with helping to identify grieving family members. Another photographer back at the office texted me saying he saw me from an overhead TV helicopter shot looking “pretty scared and confused.” I don’t doubt that. It was a challenge to keep my composure, an eye out for my own safety, and still come away with meaningful and storytelling images. After I left the scene after several hours, I saw another text on my phone that I hadn’t seen before — It was a warning from an editor that guns had been reported in the crowd and protest, and to proceed with extreme caution.
Fox previously authored a DMN photo blog post recounting covering the scene, which includes some of my photos.
Check out this portal for an archive of stories, blogs and editorials on the contentious incident that remained in the news for weeks.
Tony Harper, brother of James Harper, embraces his crying sister Ashley Harper, in the aftermath of an officer involved shooting near Dixon Avenue and Bourquin Street in southeast Dallas on July 24, 2012. According to police, James Harper was shot and killed when an officer feared for his life after a chase from a drug house in the neighborhood, as a result of a fraudulent 911 call. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
Dallas police officers walk back a perimeter line around the scene of an officer involved shooting at Dixon Avenue and Bourquin Street in southeast Dallas on July 24, 2012. In the chaotic minutes after the shooting, hundreds of residents and onlookers gathered in the area prompting a large police response to keep the situation under control. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
Raymon Bradford, left, consoles Lashaun Bradford, after an officer involved shooting at Dixon Avenue and Bourquin in southeast Dallas on July 24, 2012. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
A bystander waves at police trying to get their attention to cross a perimeter line at the scene of an officer involved shooting at Dixon Avenue and Bourquin Street in southeast Dallas on July 24, 2012. Residents and onlookers were frustrated with shifting barricades and police in riot gear. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
Police carrying assault rifles and pellet guns patrol on Dixon Avenue after an officer involved shooting in southeast Dallas on July 24, 2012. Officials later praised officers for exercising restraint with a crowd that verged on a riot, enraged by rumors of police allegedly shooting a defenseless unarmed suspect James Harper in the back. An investigation and coroner’s report later dispelled those rumors. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
Police walk through a field near the scene of an officer involved shooting at Dixon Avenue and Bourquin Street in southeast Dallas on July 24, 2012. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
On the day after the shooting, Michael Baker points to the location in a horse corral on Mural Lane where he says Dallas police shot suspect James Harper after a chase from a drug house at 5316 Bourquin Street, just behind Baker’s home. Baker’s account of the shooting differs from an official police statement and coroner’s report. According to Baker, Harper was shot in the back and remained alive, sitting face down in a pile of manure as officers let him bleed to death without giving aid. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
New Black Panther party member Malik Shukur carries a Pan-African flag during a protest and march through the Dixon Circle neighborhood more than a week after the shooting on August 4, 2012. A few dozen demonstrators rallied against alleged police brutality against people of color, citing a high number of officer involved shootings this year. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
Protestors of various affiliations march in front of a makeshift memorial in front of the drug house on Bourquin Street in the Dixon Circle neighborhood where the incident that led to the July 24 shooting of suspect James Harper began. On August 4, 2012, demonstrators of various organizations carried signs through the neighborhood, chanted slogans and obscenities toward police and alleged brutality against people of color. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)
An out of service phone booth at the intersection of Dixon Avenue and Barber Avenue has been made into a memorial to victims of violence in the same neighborhood where suspect James Harper was shot by Dallas Police responding to a 911 call on Tuesday. (Jeff Lautenberger/The Dallas Morning News)