May 30, 2020 Salem, Oregon Police used tear gas on protesters after curfew. Prior to the tear gas a police officer was filmed telling armed members of a right-wing group to leave the sidewalk and go inside so “it doesn’t look like we are playing favorites.”[125]
May 30, 2020 Salt Lake City, Utah During a live news broadcast, police were filmed shoving an elderly man, causing him to fall to the pavement.[126] The District Attorney decided not to press charges against the officer, saying the man himself did not support criminal charges.[127]
May 30, 2020 Salt Lake City, Utah An officer was filmed firing a beanbag gun at a man lying on the ground with his hands in the air. A spokesman for the Salt Lake City Police Department said the officer was not one of theirs.[128]
May 30, 2020 San Antonio, Texas A protester filmed as police shot him twice with less-lethal projectiles without physical provocation.[129]
May 30, 2020 Santa Monica, California A news crew was hit with tear gas.[77]
May 30, 2020 Seattle, Washington A seven-year-old child was maced by police, with the aftermath documented by a viral video. Hours after the protest, Seattle police arrested the person who recorded the video.[130]
May 30, 2020 Seattle, Washington An officer placed his knee on the back of the neck of a suspect; after onlookers shouted for him to remove his knee from the man’s neck, his partner pulled it off.[131]
May 30, 2020 Toledo, Ohio Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters.[132]
May 31, 2020 Austin, Texas A pregnant woman was shot by police with projectile.[133]
May 31, 2020 Austin, Texas 20-year-old African American Texas State University student Justin Howell was shot in the head with a less lethal bean bag round by an Austin Police Department officer while protesting outside the police headquarters in Austin, Texas. Fellow protesters were instructed by police to carry the injured Howell toward them for medical aid, however, those protesters were then also fired upon by police. Howell was left in critical condition, with a fractured skull and brain damage.[134][135] The officer who shot Howell was later indicted for the shooting.[136]
May 31, 2020 Austin, Texas A woman was shot with lead pellets. Nine officers were later charged in connection with the incident.[58][136]
May 31, 2020 Austin, Texas An officer shot a protester with a beanbag projectile as he walked away. The officer was later indicted for the shooting.[136]
May 31, 2020 Boston, Massachusetts Boston Police were criticized for use of pepper spray during the protests. In one instance, a man with his hands up was pepper sprayed by several officers.[137]
May 31, 2020 Boston, Massachusetts Multiple people claimed police struck them with batons despite having their hands raised. Four people filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Boston and three Boston Police officers.[138]
May 31, 2020 Charleston, South Carolina A kneeling protester was arrested after telling police “I love each and every one of you. I cry at night, because I feel your pain.”[139]
May 31, 2020 Chattanooga, Tennessee Police threw two protesters to the ground and handcuffed them after they pulled on a banner.[140]
May 31, 2020 Chattanooga, Tennessee Sheriff’s deputies threw tear gas from a courthouse balcony. According to Chattanooga Police, they had not been informed that the Sheriff’s Office would be using tear gas.[140]
May 31, 2020 Chicago, Illinois Outside Brickyard Mall, police were filmed swarming a car, smashing its windows, and pulling an occupant to the ground. An investigation was opened.[141]
May 31, 2020 Chicago, Illinois Chicago Police Board President Ghian Foreman claimed that officers struck him multiple times with batons.[142]
May 31, 2020 Cincinnati, Ohio Police arrested a tattoo artist and pushed him against a window after curfew. The artist was painting a mural on a building with the owner’s permission and was otherwise uninvolved in the protests.[143]
May 31, 2020 Columbia, South Carolina A protester filed a federal lawsuit after he was hit by tear gas and rubber bullets, the latter of which hit his back.[144]
May 31, 2020 Compton, California A deputy held a man’s head down with a knee, while another repeatedly kicked him. Compton city officials called for the deputies involved to be dismissed.[145]
May 31, 2020 Denver, Colorado When asked “what is going to happen at 8”, an officer replied “What’s gonna happen is we’re gonna start beating the fuck out of you.”[146]
May 31, 2020 Des Moines, Iowa A reporter was shot in the thigh by a rubber bullet.[147]
May 31, 2020 Detroit, Michigan An officer fired rubber pellets at a group of photojournalists leaving a protest. The officer was charged but charges were later dropped.[148]
May 31, 2020 El Paso, Texas A woman was hit in the back of the leg by a beanbag round.[149]
May 31, 2020 Eugene, Oregon A reporter from Eugene Weekly was hit with tear gas and pellets.[150]
May 31, 2020 Eugene, Oregon Police fired pepper balls at a man near his home after curfew.[151]
May 31, 2020 Fort Lauderdale, Florida A police officer shoved a woman as she knelt. Video shows one of the officer’s coworkers, a black woman, yelling at him after the incident. The officer who shoved the protester was identified and suspended pending investigation.[152] The officer was later charged with battery but was acquitted.[153]
May 31, 2020 Fort Lauderdale, Florida A woman was shot in the face with a rubber bullet. According to police the detective was aiming at a different person when the woman accidentally walked into the line of fire.[154]
May 31, 2020 Fredericksburg, Virginia Police used tear gas about two minutes after an unlawful assembly was declared. An internal review concluded that police actions were justified, but a later independent review determined that police were too quick to deploy tear gas. A group of protesters filed a lawsuit against the city of Fredericksburg.[155]
May 31, 2020 Hobart, Indiana During a protest near the Southlake Mall, police fired multiple pellets at a man walking to his car, before arresting and siccing a dog on him. Police also used tear gas on protesters.[156]
May 31, 2020 Huntington Beach, California Police used pepper balls on protesters kneeling and lying on a street.[157]
May 31, 2020 Indianapolis, Indiana The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department was filmed arresting two women, with a male officer holding one of them. The officer’s arm was positioned near her chest. She twisted free and took a few steps, officers fired pepper balls at her feet and struck her with batons. An officer then pressed her to the ground with his hand and a baton resting on her neck. When questioned by another woman, an officer shoved that woman back before she was subdued by police.[158]
May 31, 2020 Indianapolis, Indiana Peaceful protesters, including a church group, were tear gassed after police attempted to arrest a man vandalizing a statue. Indianapolis’s police chief apologized to the group.[159]
May 31, 2020 Jacksonville, Florida An officer was filmed punching a protester near a courthouse.[160]
May 31, 2020 Lafayette, Indiana Police used tear gas on protesters outside the Tippecanoe County Courthouse. According to the Journal & Courier the use of tear gas came without warning, although the sheriff said he gave the order after an explosive was set off near the courthouse.[161]
May 31, 2020 Lakeland, Florida Police used tear gas and pepper spray on protesters. One man was pepper sprayed seconds after he finished a live interview with a local news station.[162]
May 31, 2020 Lansing, Michigan Police threw tear gas canisters at a crowd of protesters, including City Councilman Brandon Betz.[163]
May 31, 2020 Lincoln, Nebraska Multiple people were stuck by non-lethal projectiles. Three people who were hit by projectiles filed lawsuits against the city of Lincoln.[164]
May 31, 2020 Long Beach, California A journalist was shot in the throat by a police rubber bullet.[165]
May 31, 2020 Long Beach, California Police fired a projectile at a woman filming, causing her to lose part of her finger. She later filed a lawsuit against the Long Beach Police Department.[166]
May 31, 2020 Los Angeles, California A US Marine Corp veteran was seriously injured after being shot in head by police with a rubber bullet.[167]
May 31, 2020 Los Angeles, California A police vehicle struck a protester after a crowd surrounded it.[168]
May 31, 2020 Louisville, Kentucky An arrested protester claims police pulled him from a vehicle and hit him with batons.[169]
May 31, 2020 Madison, Wisconsin Police tear gassed and pepper sprayed two reporters from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.[170]
May 31, 2020 Miami, Florida Police grabbed a protester and shoved him to the ground before one put the protester in a chokehold. A report of the incident claims that no force was used.[171]
May 31, 2020 Miami, Florida Police threw a social media producer for WSVN against a truck and arrested him. Charges against the producer were later dropped.[172]
May 31, 2020 Minneapolis, Minnesota Police cruisers were filmed spraying a chemical on crowds of protesters as they drove by.[173]
May 31, 2020 Minneapolis, Minnesota Poice fired a projectile at a man near a highway on-ramp, striking him and causing him to lose vision in one eye. The man later received a $2.4 million settlement.[174]
May 31, 2020 Montreal, Canada Police used tear gas on protesters. According to CTV News Montreal is the only major Canadian city to have deployed tear gas on demonstrators.[175]
May 31, 2020 Murfreesboro, Tennessee Police used tear gas on a group of protesters standing in an intersection, including some children. The mayor of Murfreesboro defended tear gas use, saying it was necessary to remove protesters blocking the intersection.[176]
May 31, 2020 New York City, New York A hospital worker returning home from work was beaten by police.[177]
May 31, 2020 New York City, New York An officer struck a man with a baton, breaking bones in his face.[178]
May 31, 2020 New York City, New York Police repeatedly struck two women with batons.[178]
May 31, 2020 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma A woman was shot in the arm by a rubber bullet. She later filed a lawsuit against the city of Oklahoma City.[179]
May 31, 2020 Phoenix, Arizona A police trainee fired a beanbag round at a man in the Garfield Historic District, breaking part of the man’s forearm. The man later sued the city of Phoenix and its police chief.[180]
May 31, 2020 Richmond, Virginia Two officers pepper sprayed three women in a car at an intersection. The two officers were indicted, but charges against them were later dismissed.[181]
May 31, 2020 Sacramento, California A teen was shot in the face with a rubber bullet.[182]
May 31, 2020 Sacramento, California A legal observer was hit above the eye with a pepper ball.[183]
May 31, 2020 Salem, Oregon An officer fired rubber bullets at a woman, causing vision loss and a chest injury. The woman was later awarded $1 million following a lawsuit.[184]
May 31, 2020 San Bernardino, California Police fired “many rounds” of tear gas and rubber bullets at crowds after reports of fires and violence.[185]
May 31, 2020 San Diego, California Police hit a man with a baton and shot him with bean bags. The city of San Diego said the people seen firing projectiles in the man’s videos were sheriff’s deputies, though the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department stated they did not send officers to the protest. A lawsuit was settled in 2023.[186][187]
May 31, 2020 San Francisco, California Video appears to show a sheriff’s deputy shove a protester from behind on a sidewalk.[188]
May 31, 2020 Santa Monica, California A man was hit in the back with a rubber bullet. Police also zip tied and arrested protesters, including actor Cole Sprouse.[189]
May 31, 2020 Santa Rosa, California An officer fired a plastic sting-ball grenade at a protester from less than 15 feet away. The protester suffered a broken jaw and four of his front teeth were knocked out. The officer was later suspended for 20 hours.[190][191]
May 31, 2020 Santa Rosa, California An officer fired a rubber bullet at a man who suffered a ruptured testicle and required emergency surgery. According to findings by the Santa Rosa Police Department the rubber bullet used was not authorized for crowd control. The officer was later suspended for 20 hours.[191]
May 31, 2020 Santa Rosa, California An officer fired a rubber bullet at a man, striking him in the forehead. In September 2021 the city of Santa Rosa agreed to pay the man $105,000 following a lawsuit.[192]
May 31, 2020 Spokane, Washington Police fired tear gas at a group of kneeling protesters. Police were responding to reports of looting at a nearby Nike store.[193]
May 31, 2020 Spokane, Washington Police beat a man lying on the ground with his arms raised with a baton. It is not clear what happened before the beating.[193]
May 31, 2020 Tampa, Florida Police fired a rubber bullet at a man helping others to safety, striking him in the back of the head. In 2021 the man filed a lawsuit against the city of Tampa, claiming he suffered from memory loss and migraines since the incident.[194]
May 31, 2020 Tulsa, Oklahoma Police fired pepper balls at a KTUL reporter, damaging his camera.[195]
May 31, 2020 Washington, D.C. President Trump went to the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church, whose basement had been damaged by fire, and posed for pictures in front of it holding up a Bible. To clear the route so that Trump could walk there, police and national guardsmen used tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash grenades to clear a crowd of peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square, resulting in significant news coverage and denunciation by the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.[196][197][198]
May 31, 2020 Washington, D.C. Federal police fired pepper balls at protesters in Lafayette Square. One man was hit in the eye.[199]
May 31, 2020 Waterbury, Connecticut Police tackled protesters while arresting them. The Waterbury Police Department stated the 28 people arrested were from an “antagonistic” group separate from peaceful protesters.[200]
May 31, 2020 West Palm Beach, Florida Police fired smoke canisters and rubber bullets at protesters. According to The Palm Beach Post police began firing rubber bullets and smoke canisters right after police announced a curfew.[201]
May 31, 2020 Wilmington, North Carolina Police fired tear gas at protesters a street length away.[202]
June 1, 2020 Asbury Park, New Jersey Police shoved a woman to the ground and arrested a reporter. The reporter was later released and his charges dropped.[203]
June 1, 2020 Asheville, North Carolina Police targeted street medics in the crowd during protests at Pack Place, using rubber bullets and tear gas. At least one street medic and several protesters were injured by pepper balls and rubber bullets.[204]
June 1, 2020 Athens, Georgia Police tear gassed a group of protesters after curfew.[205]
June 1, 2020 Bentonville, Arkansas Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters.[206]
June 1, 2020 Buffalo, New York Police tackled a man from behind as he was being interviewed by a news station.[207]
June 1, 2020 Chicago, Illinois An officer was filmed punching a man after shoving him to the ground.[208]
June 1, 2020 Cincinnati, Ohio A reporter from The Cincinnati Enquirer was forced to the ground and handcuffed. The reporter was released shortly after.[209]
June 1, 2020 Colorado Springs, Colorado Police were filmed firing less-lethal rounds at a man and punching him. Colorado Springs Police chief Vince Niski announced an investigation would be conducted.[210]
June 1, 2020 Columbus, Ohio Journalists were pepper sprayed by police.[211]
June 1, 2020 Conway, Arkansas Police used tear gas on protesters.[212]
June 1, 2020 Des Moines, Iowa A journalist was sprayed by police. Police announced they would conduct an “internal review”.[147]
June 1, 2020 Des Moines, Iowa Police gassed and arrested a reporter for Iowa’s KCCI.[213]
June 1, 2020 Des Moines, Iowa Police pushed, pepper sprayed, and beat protesters. A regional director from the American Civil Liberties Union accused police of kettling protesters and using excessive force against a child, journalists, and a legal observer.[214]
June 1, 2020 Joliet, Illinois Mayor Bob O’Dekirk personally scuffled with a protester, aided by police.[215]
June 1, 2020 Kalamazoo, Michigan Police fired tear gas at a group of people lying on the ground. Police claim the group had been looting and destroying property, while protesters disputed this.[216]
June 1, 2020 Little Rock, Arkansas State Police fired a bean bag projectile at a man leaving a protest outside the Arkansas State Capitol. In June 2022 the man filed a lawsuit against the State Police.[217]
June 1, 2020 Los Angeles, California Video shows deputies shooting pepper balls at a group of fleeing skateboarders in Hollywood.[218]
June 1, 2020 Los Angeles, California Police handcuffed and arrested store owners and bystanders who were protecting a looted store.[219]
June 1, 2020 Louisville, Kentucky An officer fired pepper balls at a person standing on private property. The Department of Justice later indicted the officer for excessive force.[220]
June 1, 2020 Louisville, Kentucky Local chef David McAtee was fatally shot by the Kentucky National Guard.[221][222]
June 1, 2020 Oakland, California Police used tear gas on protesters. About a year later in 2021 police chief LaRonne Armstrong apologized for the use of tear gas and announced that more than 33 disciplinary actions had been issued to officers who deployed it.[223]
June 1, 2020 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Protesters were filmed kneeling with hands up as police pulled their mask and goggles off and sprayed them.[224] A Philadelphia Police officer was later charged with simple assault and reckless endangerment.[225]
June 1, 2020 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania A Temple University student was released from custody on June 3, after his arrest on June 1, on charges of assaulting an officer. Video showed an officer striking him in the head with a baton and another placing his knee on the back of his neck/head to pin the student’s face to the street.[226] The officer who used a baton, Police Staff Inspector Joseph Bologna, was suspended and charged with aggravated assault.[227] Other incidents caught on video involving Bologna regarding the 2020 protests saw him tackling a female protester who had touched his bicycle, lunging at a journalist, and hitting a security guard.[228] Bologna was later fired, and multiple lawsuits were filed against him.[229]
June 1, 2020 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Protesters on the I-676 were hit with tear gas from both sides of the highway. In 2023 the city of Philadelphia announced a $9.25 million settlement for protesters affected by tear gas, rubber bullets, and zip ties.[230]
June 1, 2020 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania An officer fired at a protester 20 feet from a police line.[231]
June 1, 2020 Portland, Oregon A man was shot in the leg with a foam munition at close range.[232]
June 1, 2020 Raleigh, North Carolina Police fired projectiles at a bar owner and staff members.[233]
June 1, 2020 Richmond, Virginia Police fired tear gas at demonstrators kneeling at the Robert E. Lee Monument 20 minutes before curfew.[234]
June 1, 2020 Riverside, California News broadcast footage purported to show police smashing a car window. The sheriff’s department claimed windows were not broken.[235]
June 1, 2020 San Luis Obispo, California Police used tear gas on protesters. A report noted that protesters had only one way to disperse from the standoff, to turn around and go back. One protester stated they were hit in the foot and leg by a canister.[236]
June 1, 2020 Seattle, Washington As she broadcast live on-air, NBC reporter Jo Ling Kent was struck by a flash-bang grenade from police.[237]
June 1, 2020 St. Matthews, Kentucky Police pushed and held down a pastor during a march. The pastor was released after officers learned he was a pastor. He later filed a lawsuit against the city and its police department.[238]
June 1, 2020 Syracuse, New York An officer shoved a news photographer from Syracuse.com to the ground.[239]
June 1, 2020 Topeka, Kansas Police used tear gas on protesters. Some members of the media were also caught in the tear gas.[240]
June 1, 2020 Walnut Creek, California Police fired tear gas and sicced police dogs on protesters. One woman was struck in the head by a rubber bullet.[241][242]
June 1, 2020 Washington, D.C. An Australian Seven News crew conducting a live broadcast, were battered by police using a riot shield and clubs, while the cameraman was punched in the face. The incident prompted comment from the Australian Prime Minister and Opposition Leader. The reporter later testified in front of US Congress.[243][244]
June 1, 2020 Washington, D.C. Despite clearly showing press credentials, complying with police instructions, and the curfew not yet being in effect: an MPD officer; unprovoked, charged a BBC cameraman with a riot shield, knocking him backwards.[245][246]
June 1, 2020 Worcester, Massachusetts An officer tackled a protester walking home.[247]
June 1, 2020 Worcester, Massachusetts Video appears to show a riot officer repeatedly stepping on a woman’s phone as she was arrested. The woman can be heard on video claiming police are punching her boyfriend.[248]
June 1, 2020 Worcester, Massachusetts Police tackled and arrested a freelance journalist. The journalist was charged with disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, and failure to disperse, but the charges were later dropped.[249][250]
June 2, 2020 Asheville, North Carolina Police were filmed destroying medical supplies.[251]
June 2, 2020 Brockton, Massachusetts Police pepper sprayed a reporter from The Boston Globe while moving a crowd of protesters back.[252]
June 2, 2020 Charlotte, North Carolina Protesters claimed police deliberately kettled and tear-gassed them. Multiple lawsuits were filed against the city and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.[253]
June 2, 2020 Clayton, California Police used tear gas and smoke grenades on protesters.[254]
June 2, 2020 Colorado Springs, Colorado Police tackled two women and slammed one to the ground. One of the women was later awarded a $175,000 settlement for an excessive force lawsuit.[255]
June 2, 2020 Colorado Springs, Colorado A woman was pepper sprayed multiple times by police. The woman later filed a lawsuit against Colorado Springs and five police officers.[255]
June 2, 2020 Los Angeles, California A pedestrian was arrested at gunpoint.[256]
June 2, 2020 Los Angeles, California A wheelchair-bound man was shot in the face with a rubber projectile.[257]
June 2, 2020 Milwaukee, Wisconsin During a six-hour peaceful march from Bay View to the District 1 police station, police officers declared an unlawful assembly after empty water bottles were thrown by individual members of the crowd towards the police, and issued a ten-minute dispersal warning before firing tear gas and rubber bullets on the crowd of protesters.[258]
Earlier that same day, a group of protesters led by local organizer Frank Nitty II marched onto the I-794 bypass ramp, and were confronted by law enforcement officers, primarily from the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department. The group was ordered to halt and dispersed with deployments of tear gas and rubber bullets; Nitty was singled out from the group, had a firearm pointed in his face, was physically assaulted and dogpiled by officers “leaving him bleeding from his right elbow, hand, and wrist, and left arm”. Officers tightly bound his wrists, cutting off circulation to his hands, and he was arrested and held in jail. No charges were brought against Nitty other than a County citation for walking onto the freeway; he pled guilty, paid the citation, and was released, before suing the officers involved in the incident.[259]
A water bottle thrown at police near the District 1 station that afternoon was later pictured and described as a “molotov cocktail” on the Milwaukee Police Department’s Twitter profile; this drew widespread rebukes and was ultimately quietly corrected by MPD leadership.[260]
June 2, 2020 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Video showed an officer restraining a protester with his knee. The Milwaukee Common Council called for an investigation into the incident.[261]
June 2, 2020 New York City, New York During a protest in Park Slope an NYPD inspector was filmed stepping on a man’s neck. In 2023 the Civilian Complaint Review Board determined the inspector used excessive force and recommended he be terminated.[262]
June 2, 2020 Portland, Oregon Police fired at least 138 chemical munitions in an 18 block area, far exceeding federally-recognized safe levels of CS gas concentration. This included three types of tear gas.[263]
June 2, 2020 Providence, Rhode Island An officer fired a non-lethal projectile at a non-protester in a vehicle. The man claims he lost an eye because of the incident. The officer involved was placed on administrative leave.[264]
June 2, 2020 Richmond, Virginia A group of officers were filmed as one of them appeared to repeatedly spit at a woman in handcuffs.[265]
June 2, 2020 San Jose, California A protester filed a lawsuit against the San Jose Police Department claiming an officer tripped him before other officers fired non-lethal projectiles at him.[266]
June 2, 2020 San Juan, Puerto Rico Police used pepper spray on protesters after curfew.[267]
June 2, 2020 Vallejo, California 22-year-old Argentine-American Sean Monterrosa was killed at 12:30 AM while kneeling with his hands raised above his waist when he was shot and killed with five bullets by a police officer. Police stated they mistook a hammer in Monterrosa’s pocket for a gun. Police were responding to reported looting.[268]
June 3, 2020 Huntsville, Alabama Tear gas and rubber bullets were used on peaceful protesters.[269]
June 3, 2020 Iowa City, Iowa Police used tear gas and flash bangs on protesters. The city council later passed a resolution indicating not to use tear gas and less lethal projectiles on peaceful protesters.[270]
June 3, 2020 New Orleans, Louisiana A woman was struck in the head by a tear gas grenade. The woman later sued the city of New Orleans and its police department.[271]
June 3, 2020 St. Johnsbury, Vermont A woman fell down the steps in front of the St. Johnsbury Police Department after an officer pushed her out of the way.[272]
June 3, 2020 Tampa, Florida An officer on a bicycle knocked down and detained a journalist from the Tampa Bay Times. The journalist was released after 10 to 15 minutes. Tampa mayor Jane Castor later issued an apology to the journalist.[273]
June 3, 2020 Valdosta, Georgia A brief scuffle occurred after the Lowndes County sheriff attempted to take a sign from a protester.[274]
June 4, 2020 Buffalo, New York Martin Gugino, a 75-year-old man with a cane, was left bleeding from the head after approaching police officers and being shoved to the ground by the police. A video of the encounter shows an officer leaning down to examine him, but another officer then pulls the first officer away. Several other officers are seen walking by the man, motionless on the ground, without checking on him.[275] In February 2021, a grand jury declined to indict the officers, and in April 2022 they were cleared of wrongdoing.[276][277]
June 4, 2020 New York City, New York During a protest in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx, police kettled protesters and beat them with batons. A class-action lawsuit was settled in 2023.[278]
June 4, 2020 San Diego, California After a protest, a woman was forcibly dragged into an unmarked car by unidentified men in civilian clothing. Unwilling to reveal where the woman would be taken, one of the assailants threatened bystanders: “You follow us, you will get shot! Do you understand me?!” The San Diego Police Department later confirmed the individuals were law enforcement officers and claimed the woman had hit police with a protest sign.[279]
June 4, 2020 Portland, Oregon A freelance reporter was hit with a baton and pepper sprayed.[280]
June 5, 2020 Lakewood, California Police used pepper balls on protesters. Police claim that an object was thrown at them, but protesters disputed this.[281]
June 6, 2020 Sydney, Australia Police pepper sprayed a crowd of protesters at Central Station. Police also grabbed and restrained a man.[282]
June 8, 2020 Seattle, Washington At the East Precinct, a 26-year-old protester was shot in the chest with a blast ball as she stood 25 feet from the police line. Her heart stopped and street medics raced her unconscious body away on a makeshift stretcher as flash grenades exploded around them. Following chest compressions she was revived then taken to Virginia Mason Hospital. Though she went into cardiac arrest again at the hospital, doctors were able to keep her alive.[283][284]
June 12, 2020 Austin, Texas The day after Austin Police Department Chief Brian Manley announced that the department would no longer perform chokeholds or neck restraints, an officer detaining 19-year-old Jarrid Cornell knelt on his neck while he was already pinned to the ground by two other officers.[286]
June 12, 2020 Beverly Hills, California Police used tear gas and sponge-tipped bullets on protesters after an unlawful assembly was declared.[287]
June 12, 2020 East Meadow, New York As a protester walked surrounded by multiple officers, one of the officers stopped abruptly, causing the protester to bump into them. The swarm of officers then pulled the protester to the ground and placed him under arrest.[288]
June 13, 2020 Las Vegas, Nevada Police arrested multiple legal observers. One legal observer claimed police threw her to the ground.[289]
June 13, 2020 Richmond, Virginia A police vehicle hit several protesters near the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue.[290]
June 15, 2020 Louisville, Kentucky Police shot at a courthouse security guard as he filmed protests from inside the building.[291]
June 16, 2020 Portland, Oregon An officer hit a theft suspect with an unmarked police van during a protest. The officer was later indicted.[292]
June 18, 2020 Compton, California Sheriff’s deputies used flash bangs on protesters while clearing them from the rally.[293]
June 18, 2020 Raleigh, North Carolina Police dragged a teenager to the ground and zip-tied her after she was falsely accused of assaulting an officer. A police motorcycle ran over the teenager’s foot prior to the incident. In 2022 a settlement was reached between the girl and the city of Raleigh in a lawsuit.[294]
June 21, 2020 Columbus, Ohio A double-amputee was sprayed by police.[295]
June 25, 2020 Portland, Oregon A woman sued the Portland Police Bureau for firing a rubber ball distraction device at her.[232]
June 26, 2020 Portland, Oregon An officer was filmed knocking several people to the ground after emerging from behind a police line.[232]
June 27, 2020 Tempe, Arizona Police pepper sprayed protesters and tackled three demonstrators.[296]
June 28, 2020 Aurora, Colorado Police used pepper spray to disperse a violin vigil for Elijah McClain.[297]
June 28, 2020 Detroit, Michigan A police SUV drove through a crowd of protesters. Multiple people were injured.[298]
June 28, 2020 Nashville, Tennessee A State Trooper was seen shoving a protester climbing an eight-foot wall.[299]
July 1, 2020 Des Moines, Iowa Police arrested several people, including Indira Sheumaker. In June 2022 two officers sued Sheumaker—who had since been elected to city council—and other protesters, accusing them of assaulting officers and putting one in a chokehold. Sheumaker later countersued, accusing officers of putting her in a chokehold and shoving her.[300]
July 1, 2020 Miami, Florida An officer grabbed a woman’s breast as she was arrested.[301]
July 5, 2020 Milwaukee, Wisconsin As a photographer tracking a protest march passed the Old German Beer Hall restaurant, an off-duty police officer and his wife objected to being photographed, threw beer into the crowd, and fought the group of protesters, resulting in property damage, concussions, and charges of battery and misconduct.[302]
July 5, 2020 West Haven, Connecticut After a woman drove through a crowd of protesters, police attempted to disperse the crowd, and one man was tackled from behind, tasered, and maced. According to hospital records the man has a fracture in his spine following the incident.[303]
July 11, 2020 Lexington, Kentucky Police put a man in a chokehold and threw him to the ground. The man filed a lawsuit but a judge dismissed it in 2022.[304]
July 12, 2020 Portland, Oregon Federal officers shot a protester in the head with an impact munition.[305]
July 15, 2020 Portland, Oregon In two separate incidents federal law enforcement agents grabbed protesters and forced them into unmarked vans. Both of the protesters were later released.[232]
July 18, 2020 Portland, Oregon Federal officers were filmed beating Navy veteran Chris David with batons and spraying him with pepper spray. David says he walked over to the officers to talk to them.[306]
July 18, 2020 Portland, Oregon Police threw a man to the ground. When the man attempted to get up, officers knocked him to the ground again. The man filed a lawsuit that was later settled by the city.[307]
July 21, 2020 Portland, Oregon The chair of Lewis & Clark College’s history department was hit in the head with an impact munition and tear gassed.[308]
July 27, 2020 Overland Park, Kansas Police pulled a man to the ground and arrested several people.[309]
July 25, 2020 Anaheim, California A police cruiser hit a protester and drove away. The Anaheim Police Department claimed the cruiser hit the man by accident and that the officer drove away because of approaching protesters.[310]
July 25, 2020 Hoover, Alabama During a protest police arrested a chaplain. Video showed an officer putting his forearm on the back of the chaplain’s neck while arresting him.[311]
July 28, 2020 New York City, New York Police were filmed taking a protester into an unmarked police van. The protester was later released.[312]
July 29, 2020 Springfield, Oregon Police dragged a man on the ground and hit him in the head as he was being restrained.[313]
August 8, 2020 Stamford, Connecticut An officer was filmed grabbing a protester from behind. Other officers were filmed throwing a photographer to the ground and shoving a woman on her knees.[314]
August 10, 2020 Nashville, Tennessee A state trooper forcibly ripped a protester’s face mask off. The trooper was later charged with and pleaded no contest to assault.[315]
August 12, 2020 Tampa, Florida A Black Lives Matter activist was hospitalized after police kneeled on her shoulder.[316]
August 14, 2020 Portland, Oregon An officer with a nightstick knocked a woman down. The woman later filed a lawsuit.[317]
August 18, 2020 Portland, Oregon An officer hit a protester in the head with a baton. The officer was later indicted for fourth-degree assault.[318]
August 26, 2020 Madison, Wisconsin A Dane County Sheriff’s Deputy fired tear gas at protesters as they left a protest. According to the Dane County Sheriff, Madison Police did not authorize the use of tear gas.[319]
August 31, 2020 Portland, Oregon A police officer broke ahead of a police line and tackled a protester who was running away, before repeatedly punching them.[320]
September 5, 2020 Portland, Oregon Police used tear gas at a protest. When a homeowner told police gas had seeped into his house, where his son and son’s friend were, another officer struck the homeowner in the back of the head with a baton.[321]
September 23, 2020 Laramie, Wyoming A police sergeant hit a protester with her vehicle.[322]
September 23, 2020 Portland, Oregon An officer shoved a protester to the ground from behind. In 2022 the district attorney announced charges would not be filed against the officer.[323]
September 24, 2020 Seattle, Washington A police officer was filmed pushing his bicycle over the head of a protester lying on the street.[324]
October 24, 2020 Ithaca, New York Police pepper sprayed and arrested several protesters outside the police station.[325]
October 29, 2020 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Video footage showed a slow-moving SUV being surrounded by police. Officers with batons surrounded the vehicle, broke its windows, pulled its driver and a passenger, Rickia Young and her teenage nephew, from the car, threw them onto the ground, and then pulled Young’s 2-year-old son from the backseat. Young had to be taken to the hospital for injuries sustained in the arrest and was later released without charges. The Fraternal Order of Police posted a photo of a policewoman holding Young’s son to Twitter and Facebook, claiming that the child had been found wandering the streets and that they were protecting him. The posts were later deleted.[326] The city settled out of court for $2 million in September 2021.[327] One of the officers was later fired and charged with assault, but was acquitted by a jury in 2023.[328][329][330]
URGH, that was a pain. But please if you find a list of police casualties during these protests/riots I would love to see them since I can not find them. Oh and if you want to say they stopped the riots, the buildings still burned while the police watched.
Earlier that same day, a group of protesters led by local organizer Frank Nitty II marched onto the I-794 bypass ramp, and were confronted by law enforcement officers, primarily from the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department. The group was ordered to halt and dispersed with deployments of tear gas and rubber bullets; Nitty was singled out from the group, had a firearm pointed in his face, was physically assaulted and dogpiled by officers “leaving him bleeding from his right elbow, hand, and wrist, and left arm”. Officers tightly bound his wrists, cutting off circulation to his hands, and he was arrested and held in jail. No charges were brought against Nitty other than a County citation for walking onto the freeway; he pled guilty, paid the citation, and was released, before suing the officers involved in the incident.[259]
A water bottle thrown at police near the District 1 station that afternoon was later pictured and described as a “molotov cocktail” on the Milwaukee Police Department’s Twitter profile; this drew widespread rebukes and was ultimately quietly corrected by MPD leadership.[260]
URGH, that was a pain. But please if you find a list of police casualties during these protests/riots I would love to see them since I can not find them. Oh and if you want to say they stopped the riots, the buildings still burned while the police watched.