Linda Tirado was in Minneapolis from out of state covering the protests and rioting when police shot her in the face with a rubber bullet, also known as a "less-lethal" round.

A journalist shot by police during the 2020 Minneapolis unrest following the murder of George Floyd is dying from her injuries, friends say.

Linda Tirado was in Minneapolis from out of state covering the protests and rioting when police shot her in the face with a rubber bullet, also known as a “less-lethal” round. She suffered a traumatic brain injury and was blinded in one eye.

  • @jpreston2005@lemmy.world
    51•5 months ago

    That summer, I went to witness the protests in Raleigh, NC. The most intense of it was limited to a group of 7-12 people yelling at a group of police holding a line in a street outside the courthouse. Someone threw a firework at them, and then the tear gas came out, with police shooting rubber bullets at us. My friend and I were off to the side, not doing anything but watching, he got hit by a rubber bullet on his collar bone. Broke the skin, leaving a baseball size bloody petechiae welt. Regulations say that they’re supposed to fire those bullets at peoples legs. But of course, police are given 3 months of training tops, so they just fire them wherever.

    On a side note, whole milk is the best thing to use to wash tear gas off your face. Also hold your breath if you have to walk through it’s smoke, getting that shit in your nostrils, throat, or lungs feels like inhaling fire.

    • TurtleJoe
      46•5 months ago

      But of course, police are given 3 months of training tops, so they just fire them wherever.

      I don’t think they fire them wherever. I think they aim at people’s faces because they think it’s funny.

      • I'm back on my BS 🤪English
        -20•5 months ago

        They’re meant to be fired any where. They say at the legs so people will be okay with it. It’s like when people go to Vegas with their friends for girls/boys trip. There aint nothing there but gambling and debauchery. Most people go there to cheat.

        • Natanael
          5•5 months ago

          They’re literally meant to only be bounced off the ground, that’s some BS propaganda

          • I'm back on my BS 🤪English
            -6•5 months ago

            That’s what they say. The people that use them know very well that they are going to shoot them however they please. However, if they were to say so, that might make them illegal or result in liability issues if someone is severely injured. Thus, they have to pretend that they would only shoot them at the legs. This is how I imagine the conversation went:

            Politician A: We can fire rubber bullets at them to stop. It will give us an excuse to make the protestors shit themselves in fear of death, but they wont be killed since we’re using rubber bullets. That will get them to stop fighting us.

            Politician B: Yeah, but how are we gonna get the public to allow us to shoot bullets at them? They’re not going to let us do that. All they would have to argue is that the rubber bullets could severely injure or kill someone that is shot in the face.

            A: We’ll just say that the rubber bullets will only be shot at the legs.

            B: That might not be intimidating enough.

            A: Don’t worry. We’re just saying that. The cops will do as they normally do.

            B: Wont they know that it’s a lie when they get shot in the face?

            A: Nah. We’ll say it was an accident or bounced off of the floor.

            B: 🤜

            A: 🤛

    • @explodicle@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      14•5 months ago

      Even if they fire at the ground, rubber bullets can bounce up to collarbone height. It’s just much less safe than the people voting for it think it is.

    • @usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml
      8•5 months ago

      Don’t use dairy milk for tear gas. Comes with infection risks. Water or saline is generally recommended instead. Plant-milks might be ok (but I’m not 100% sure)

      That means bacteria can contaminate the milk and potentially cause infection if applied to eyes or skin wounds. Jordt says it’s better to use water or saline solutions to wash out eyes after a tear-gas attack.

      https://www.forbes.com/sites/marlamilling/2020/07/21/the-risks-of-using-milk-to-soothe-tear-gassed-eyes-an-expert-says-use-water-instead/

      EDIT: accidentally pasted the wrong link earlier somehow, fixed now

      • @jpreston2005@lemmy.world
        5•5 months ago

        Yeah no. Water doesn’t wash away tear gas, don’t use water. it just spreads it around, making it worse.

        Source: water was the first thing I tried

        • @usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml
          2•5 months ago

          From what I’ve been told, it takes large amounts of any fluid to get it to go away. One difference you may have observed with milk was that it was cooled vs room temperature water. Cooled water can have similar effects compared to cool milk

          Or the time factor itself since it was the second thing used

          • @LordGimp@lemm.ee
            3•5 months ago

            Nah you’re missing the chemistry. The irritant in teargas is an oil, and using water just spreads around the oil. Enough water will work, sure, but you’re going to suffer the whole time. Milk contains lipids and fats that will actually dissolve the irritant, allowing it to be washed away much easier. Soapy water would also work, but then you’re just irritating your face holes all over again. The risk of bacteria feels like a dog whistle though. Just rinse yourself after, like idk a shower or something, and you’ll be fine. We wouldn’t drink it if it was a plague potion.

            • @usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml
              4•5 months ago

              That’s what people claim, but the research on it suggests it does not do any better for tear gas or pepper spray. Here’s one study looking at pepper spray for instance:

              In this study, there was no significant difference in pain relief provided by five different treatment regimens. [Water vs milk vs 3 other solutions] Time after exposure appeared to be the best predictor for decrease in pain.

              https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18924005/

              EDIT: Also worth noting that in terms of infection risk, bird flu is now in a large number of dairy samples and it appears like it transmit to humans through the eyes in particular (or at least be one of its transmission pathways).

              The workers were most likely exposed to the virus in contaminated milk—by getting it on their hands and then touching their eyes

              https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-bird-flu-is-causing-eye-infections-in-dairy-workers/

              Some types of pasteurization (flash pasteurization) might not fully get rid of all of the virus. So for even just bird flu alone, its likely more of a risk than it probably was in the past

            • @jpreston2005@lemmy.world
              2•5 months ago

              dude I don’t know why this person is trying to get people messed up with this terrible advice. I know what water does to teargas (makes it worse), and what milk does (provide instant relief). It’s like he’s trying to psyop people out of the ability to properly evade police tactics.

      • @jpreston2005@lemmy.world
        1•5 months ago

        Yes, ignore that. Saline may work, but can you buy that at a corner store immediately before a raucous protest? no. Water just doesn’t work, so ignore that. Also, odds are, if you were pepper sprayed/tear gassed, and you’ve washed it off with milk, you’ll probably wash yourself off afterwards. You don’t have to worry about getting an infection from pasteurized milk. This Lemmy user has been spreading that, and it’s just blatantly false. water does not work.

    • @Jim_Just_Jim@lemmy.world
      -36•5 months ago

      No offense intended, but deliberately placing yourself in the vicinity of potentially violent protests is also deliberately subjecting yourself to a certain amount of risk.

        • I'm back on my BS 🤪English
          3•5 months ago

          I knew a guy in my social circle that was a sheriff deputy during the George Floyd protests. He was known for being an all-around douchebag and was mostly tolerated. No one ever wondered where he was at or of he was coming. He kinda just heard of plans and showed up. His conversations would be things like complaining about women or people of color and sharing that he takes 30-mins shits.

          There was someone else in the circle that needed a place nearby since he was going to school, so the cop offered him a room in his house for an affordable rate with no lease. Once the guy moved in and gave up his previous residence, the guy jacked up rent, imposed ridiculous rules like an overbearing curfew, monitored him with cameras and sensors throughout the house, and belittled him every chance he got in front of others. I am not exaggerating at all. That’s who this guy was.

          Come the protests, we saw this dude out there. He was purposely instigating unrest so that he could use force. That’s what he wanted. He was open about it. He even came out in the news doing it on video and it became a thing in the city.

          All he wanted to do was demonstrate power over others to overcome his deep-seated inferiority complex. He was a complete sack of shit.