Photojournalist Andre Mercharles on the traumatic experience of being shot with rubber bullets during a protest
Photo: KEREM YUCEL/AFP via Getty Images Over the weekend, protesters demanding justice for George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis cop have themselves become victims of police brutality. On top of using physical force and tear gas, as well as driving their cruisers into a group of demonstrators, officers have shot multiple protesters with rubber bullets.
I was hit with rubber bullets twice while protesting in Minneapolis. I flew down from New York to document what was happening. On Friday night, I was walking down the street and everything was on fire. When the cops finally showed up, they started shooting everybody. The crowd I was part of had no weapons. But the cops didn’t care if they were attacking the wrong people.
I dropped to the ground. I was still holding my camera, but my glasses fell off and someone stepped on them. I got up and started running so I wouldn’t get trampled. I was holding my leg and limping. I remember thinking, What if I get shot in the eyes and I’m blind? What if I get shot in my chest? What if it stops my heart? They’re not aiming. They’re just shooting.
When I finally got to a safe zone, I sat down to catch my breath and realized, Oh shit, it’s ketchup. I realized I hadn’t been hit by a real bullet. I wanted to drop, but I started running along with everybody else. It’s like the officers were thinking, “These people are not humans, they’re animals. And we’re just going to be trigger happy and keep shooting.” It feels like you’re the target practice at a shooting range.
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