1/ Texas police have used tear gas, rubber bullets and other levels of force on protesters in the past week.
One man is critically injured with a fractured skull.
Another man lost his left eye.
June 4, 2020
Police using rubber bullets on protesters incites more violence, experts say
Texas police have used tear gas, rubber bullets and other levels of force on protesters in the past week. One man is critically injured with a fractured skull. Another man lost his left eye.
Photo via @TexasTribunePolice using rubber bullets on protesters incites more violence, experts say
2/ As tens of thousands of Texans took to the streets over the past few days to protest police brutality against black people after the death of George Floyd, Texas police departments have responded with varying levels of force.
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3/ Officials have defended the use of force, pointing to reports of people throwing bottles and rocks at officers, sometimes injuring them, damaging police cars and breaking into stores.
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4/ Decades of research on protests have shown that deploying police in riot gear and using methods like tear gas often incites violence instead of preventing it, according to a report by .
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5/ And organizers say the use of force by police highlights the underlying discord between law enforcement and residents that underpinned the protests in the first place.
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6/ In Austin, police officers repeatedly fired “less-lethal” ammunition, like bean bag rounds, into crowds of protesters.
The shots critically injured 20-year-old Justin Howell, a political science student at Texas State University.
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7/ In an op-ed for , Howell’s brother writes that doctors have told his family that Howell has a fractured skull and brain damage.
"Doctors anticipate that when he wakes up, he will have difficulty telling his left from his right.” bit.ly/2MsrJYN
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8/ In Dallas, Brandon Saenz said he was hit with less-lethal ammunition that shattered his left eye.
"I just want my justice," Saenz said Wednesday.
dallasnews.com/news/2020/06/0 via
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9/ A study detailed in showed that 3% of people hit by less-lethal rubber bullets were killed.
Their use in protests around the world has sparked outrage. khn.org/news/police-us
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10/ Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo instructed officers Friday not to use tear gas or rubber bullets to disperse growing crowds.
But officers used pepper spray and arrested protesters, and video captured a protester trampled by an officer on horseback.
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11/ Chas Moore, an activist who serves as executive director and founder of the Austin Justice Coalition, said he thought the Austin Police Department could have used different tactics in an attempt to deescalate the violence. bit.ly/2U7s733
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12/ Protesters showed up at the Capitol grounds this past Sunday before eventually heading back to the highway.
Moore said he saw protesters trying to talk with officers to no avail. They looked like they were “trying to talk to a wall,” he said.
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Lawmakers from Broward County say the Fort Lauderdale police officer who shot a peaceful protester in the face with a foam rubber bullet should be held accountable for actions that appear to violate police department policy.
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A KC man said after he was hit by a police-fired "rubber bullet" at Saturday's protest, doctors told him he may not see out of his left eye again. “I may be brave and in the moment, but ... if I lost it, I lost it for a reason.”
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Woke up this morning to more instances of police unacceptably targeting and using force against journalists in the US over the last week. The list is far too long & this is unacceptable -- especially in the United States of America.
Time for a thread. This is just a sampling:
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In Louisville, a police officer fired pepper balls directly at a WAVE 3 News TV crew. Through the photojournalists lens, you can see the police officer aiming directly at him:
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Videos showing police officers using batons, tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets on protesters, bystanders and journalists have highlighted the complaints about police behavior that have drawn protests in at least 75 cities across the U.S. nyti.ms/2ZWmKaD
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Calling rubber bullets "non-lethal" is misleading: Experts agree they can inflict serious injuries — and can even kill.
New, from :
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Texas police are using tear gas and rubber bullets at protests.
Experts say they can incite more violence. bit.ly/2U7s733
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