Minneapolis city and its Police chief have been sued by a journalist covering the George Floyd protests in the city, he claims the Police permanently blinded one of his eye after being shot with rubber bullets.
The journalist Linda Tirado claims the Police ignored her credentials as a press and shot her with a ballistic tracking round before firing foam bullets at her face.
TMZ reported that Tirado in the lawsuit says she was covering the protests on May 29 — the first night the city implemented a curfew — and was left with blood dripping down her face as she repeatedly cried “I’m press.” She claims officers ignored her and it was protesters who got her to a medic who transported her to the hospital.
She added that by the time she got to the hospital, her left eye was permanently destroyed. She says doctors told her “in connection with her injury, she now has a flat aspect and no depth perception.”
Tirado, a mother of 2 also says the injury will have long-term effects on her children. She says her oldest is 9 years old and is autistic and “will need therapy to work through her trauma associated with her mother’s injury.” Tirado also says her youngest, 7, may also need therapy.
Tirado says she has not been medically cleared to return to work and cover the protests. She’s suing the city and Chief Medaria Arradondo for violation of her First Amendment rights, Fourth Amendment rights (excessive force) and wants damages for her injuries.
