“My entire leg/lower back felt a pain unlike any I’ve ever experienced. My face was burning from the tear gas, I was hyper ventilating, and could not put any pressure on my left leg.”
Protesters who were present at the final stage of the May 31 protest against police brutality have been raising the alarm since the event occurred that tear gas was not the only weapon used against them that night.
The initial ACCPD press release did not mention rubber bullets or “bean bag” rounds. Yet, ACCPD Police Chief Cleveland Spruill has now confirmed their use in a “community conversation” with Mayor Girtz and other ACC officials this Thursday. Spruill claimed that police fired upon protesters in order to protect tear gas canisters they deployed from being thrown back at them.
One anonymous protester disputes this version of the events.
“I can assure you that throughout this entire time I showed no signs of aggression towards the police, and did not throw any tear gas at them. All I did was try to snuff them [the canisters] out. That’s when I got shot.”
“Bean bag” rounds are composed of lead shot fired from a 12-gauge shotgun softened with a bit of fabric and fired at a lower velocity, according to Security Devices International.
19 protesters were arrested that night, some claiming their civil rights were violated in jail. APN has received reports of protesters being denied phone calls, being isolated as a form of punishment and being denied healthcare treatment.
5 thoughts on “ACCPD admits to using “bean bag” rounds against protesters”
ACCPD’s initial press release states that use of force beyond tear gas was not necessary. Additionally, ACCPD did not just fail to mention they used bean bag rounds, they explicitly said they did not use them. This wasn’t accidental omission, it was an attempt to withhold information and mislead the public.
Where did they say they did not use them? In the original press release, they said people were arrested “without additional force” but I take that to mean batons were not used, for example. They should have mentioned the bean bag rounds but I don’t take this as an intentional untruth.
Which there were plenty of in this press release, don’t get me wrong. I think here it’s more like they mis-spoke, but it’s okay to see things differently of course.
Either way you’re right, it’s an intentional deception, I guess I’m saying it’s more by omission. They chose not to talk about it.
In the “Summary of Police Actions During May 31 Downtown Protest” by Police Chief Cleveland Spruill – Chief Spruill made no mention of bean bags other than this:
It should be noted that gas is the industry standard and preferred method of disbursing crowds because its effect is temporary and goes away within a short period of time with no lasting injury. This is as opposed to the use of rubber bullets, batons, bean bag rounds or conducted energy devices (Tasers), which are much more likely to cause lasting injury” — omission and intent to deceive, I’d say
Ah. Yes. That was in the email Commissioner NeSmith published. I forgot about that. I was talking about the official press release.