A Journalist Blinded, a Child Maced, and a Congresswoman Pepper-Sprayed: Police Violence Explodes Across the Country

By Paul Gottinger, Reader Supported News

31 May 20

uthorities in ten states have activated the National Guard and adopted curfews in an effort to crack down on nationwide demonstrations, which have spread to at least 75 cities following the police killing of George Floyd on May 25.

Despite authorities’ efforts, the unrest has only grown. Tens of thousands of Americans are in the streets to protest what many Americans see as a violent and racist justice system.

In response, police have resorted to increasingly brutal methods. Social media has been flooded with videos of police across the country firing projectiles at protesters’ heads and even driving vehicles into protesters. In Minneapolis, where the protests against the police killing of George Floyd started, law enforcement has repeatedly targeted journalists with arrests, projectiles, and tear gas.

These acts are clearly being carried out by law enforcement in response to the protests in Minneapolis; however, it’s not always clear which specific agencies are involved. In addition to the Minneapolis police, the state’s National Guard, the Minnesota State Patrol, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, and other local police agencies are on the scene.

On May 29, Minnesota’s governor Tim Walz apologized after a CNN news crew was arrested, but the arrests and targeting of reporters have continued.

On May 30, a reporter, this one wearing a vest labeled PRESS, was hit by a police projectile in Minneapolis.

Last night, a Star Tribune reporter had his car window shot out by police in Minneapolis while he was trying to get out of the way of a police line, and an award-winning photographer with a local Minneapolis news station was hit by a police projectile and arrested.

Also last night, police in Minneapolis tear-gased an entire group of media who were identifying themselves when hit. A Los Angeles Times reporter with the group described how she was hit with a barrage of tear gas at “point blank range” outside the Minneapolis 5th precinct after they had identified themselves as press.

Police in Minneapolis threw a Vice News reporter to the ground while he was holding up his press badge, then held him down and pepper-sprayed him in the face, and MSNBC television host Ali Velshi was hit in the leg by a police rubber bullet in Minneapolis.

Tragically, a photojournalist covering the protests in Minneapolis was blinded when a police projectile hit her in the left eye. She was rushed to surgery but ended up losing vision in the eye.

But the police targeting of journalists hasn’t only happened in Minneapolis. A journalist at the NPR affiliate KCRW in Los Angeles was hit by a police projectile while holding her press pass, and also in LA, police punched a reporter in the stomach while he was identifying himself as a member of the press.

Beyond the targeting of journalists, police have also adopted the tactic of firing projectiles at the heads of protesters and even passersby. In Dallas, a young woman was walking home with groceries when she was hit in the head by a police projectile. An image of her after being hit shows blood pouring down her face.

A video shared on social media from a protest in Sacramento shows an African American boy being carried away from a protest bleeding from his eye after being hit by a police projectile. A similar video in San Diego shows an African American Woman bleeding from her face after being shot by the police with something, and a photo of a protester in Indiana shows a young man bleeding from his face after an impact from a projectile.

In Seattle, a video captured a young girl screaming in pain after being maced by police while attending a protest, and in New York City an officer pulled down the mask of a young African American protester with his hands up to spray him in the face with mace.

In Columbus, Ohio, Democratic congresswoman Joyce Beatty was pepper-sprayed by police at a protest. Rep. Beatty said she was sprayed when she rushed to try to de-escalate a situation with police.

“I just felt like maybe I could protect her,” Beatty said in a telephone interview, referring to the female protester. “I’m trying to push the bike away and get her into a safe space, and the next thing I know pepper spray is everywhere.”

If the protests continue, we’re likely to see increasingly brutal police response across the country as authorities attempt to reassert control over the country, which has witnessed one horrific police killing after another.

Paul Gottinger is a staff reporter at RSN whose work focuses on the Middle East and the arms industry. He can be reached on Twitter @paulgottinger or via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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