North Stonington — Tim Yakaitis didn't intend to get in this deep.

A local photographer and owner of "DroneOn," an aerial photography company, Yakaitis said when he first heard about Native American protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock over the summer, he intended to travel to the camp, learn about the demonstrators and sell some aerial footage to CNN.

But soon after arriving at the makeshift campsite in August, where several thousand people had dug in to oppose the pipeline, he said he knew he needed more time to hear from the protesters.

"No one is telling the back story," he said.

Yakaitis will discuss his experience on the front lines of the protest during his four trips, and what he says was the overreach of the police response, in a talk and slideshow at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Westerly Library.

During the course of the protests, he said he was Maced and narrowly escaped arrest.

"It's kind of taken over my life right now," he said of the protests in an interview in his North Stonington home Monday. Having recently returned from Standing Rock, Yakaitis still has memory cards to unload and photographs he hasn't reviewed yet.

He flew out to the camp in August and began striking up conversations with other protesters, including Don Cuny, who goes by the name "Cuny Dog" and serves as head of security at the camp, who led him on a tour of the site.

"If that didn't happen, everything would have gone differently ... I was able to be a part of their community," he said.

Over the course of the next few days, he used the drone he brought with him to capture photos of the camp and the activists. His idea to sell footage to the national media "flew out the window" as he talked with people and became sympathetic to their cause.

Now he describes himself as an ally to their cause and a fellow water-protector, as the activists call themselves.

The pipeline will pass over land that once belonged to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, and it will pass under the Missouri River, the primary drinking water source for the tribe.

"This is not just about the pipeline but it's about having a say on what should be their land," he said. "All they're doing is fighting for clean water."

During his first visit, there were no big protests outside the camp, and he described the overall attitude as "very mellow." The pipeline construction was miles away at that point.

He said on his first trip there were 15 flags representing other Native American nations who had joined in the protest, and when he departed after his fourth trip in November, he counted 360.

Yakaitis got together with members of a local chapter of the ManKind Project, a men's group that promotes personal growth, and raised $4,500 to donate to the protests. In September, he flew out to North Dakota with another member of the group to distribute firewood, warm socks and gloves.

But it was during his last visit three weeks ago that the pipeline construction arrived near the protest site and "things blew up."

The Standing Rock Sioux were awaiting a court decision that would either halt the pipeline or allow it to continue under the Missouri. The court found in favor of the pipeline in September, and by October the pipeline construction had reached the land abutting the tribal land. The protesters began taking direct action to stop the pipeline work, and constructed a barricade on state Highway 1806.

Yakaitis said one of the major efforts he undertook was documenting the police response to the protests, which has not been proportional to the peaceful protesting he's seen.

In video he shot at the scene, police with clubs and helmets used a long-range acoustic device mounted on a vehicle to try to disperse the demonstrators, and advanced in a line to push them back. He also photographed an incident where he said protesters were standing in water with their hands raised peacefully and the police Maced them.

"I mean, I've seen bottles thrown and sticks thrown but it's after people are getting Maced," he said.

Yakaitis said he worries about what will happen when the pipeline company begins drilling under the river in the coming weeks, and what the future Trump administration will do.

"I don't think it's words, I think there are people who are willing to lay down their lives to stop this," he said.

Yakaitis is still not sure what to do with the hundreds of photos and video footage he's taken at the protests. His work has appeared in a New York Times video, and he said he may try to develop a film out of his footage. He recently turned over footage of the protests to United Nations investigators, said Geeks Without Bounds ‎Executive Director Lisha Sterling, who is setting up internet service for the camp.

But currently Yakaitis is focused on telling the story of those who continue to demonstrate their opposition to the pipeline.

"Right now it's about being there as much as we can and documenting this," he said.

n.lynch@theday.com