'MY FACE WENT NUMB'

‘Peaceful’ protestor, 21, loses an EYE after being hit by police tear gas canister during George Floyd demonstration

Niamh Cavanagh, News Reporter

Published: 10:27, 1 Jun 2020
Updated: 5:57, 2 Jun 2020

A PEACEFUL protestor lost an eye after being hit in the face by a tear gas canister while attending a demonstration in Indiana on Saturday.

Balin Brake, 21, suffered the horrific injury in Fort Wayne while protesting the death of George Floyd, a man who died while in the custody of the Minneapolis police.

Balin Brake with his bloody eye — The 21-year-old Balin Brake had been peacefully protesting when he was hit with a tear gas canisterCredit: Twitter

Brake's ruptured eye was removed on Sunday and he will be given a prosthetic eye in the coming weeksCredit: Twitter

Upon being released from hospital after undergoing surgery, Brake told about the moment he lost his eye.

He said: "Protesters were in the streets. Cops yelled 'disperse' then began launching tear gas canisters into the crowd.

"One hit and burned my shoe. I began to run and as I turned around to see what was going on behind me another canister hit my face."

He added: "I didn’t feel a lot of pain because the right side of my face went numb, but I instantly knew my eye was done for.

"I couldn’t see out of it and there was blood just leaking from it."

I regret nothing. I'll say the same thing I've been saying. This is chess, not checkers. My eye is small collateral when you think of what the big picture is.
Balin Brake

Brake revealed his eye "ruptured" when an "FWPD (Fort Wayne Police Department) Officer unnecessarily and improperly fired a tear gas canister at my head hitting my eye."

The 21-year-old had his eye removed and will have a prosthetic fitted in the following weeks after having surgery to repair his occipital bone.

Yesterday he told his Twitter followers: "This pales in comparison to the hardships African Americans have endured for decades. Stand up for what you believe in.

"I regret nothing. I'll say the same thing I've been saying. This is chess, not checkers. My eye is small collateral when you think of what the big picture is."

'THE POLICE NEED POLICING'

Brake, who works as a part-time video editor for a local news station said he was protesting peacefully because "anger and violence isn't going to fix any of the problems we're facing."

He added to DailyMail.com: "If I could be back on the streets for the protests today I would be. The police need policing.

"This white skin of mine is a privilege and I fully intend to use my privilege to advocate and continue to help my fellow people. Black Lives Matter."

Police Officers in Washington D.C hold the line during protestsCredit: Getty Images - Getty

Protestors demonstrate by burning the American flag in Washington DCCredit: Getty Images - Getty

Protesters march as they demonstrate during the sixth day of protestsCredit: EPA

Sofia Rosales-Scatena, Public Information Officer for Fort Wayne Police Department, said in a statement: "At this time this is what I can tell you regarding the eye injury of a male protester.

"I do not have an official name at this time but we do believe it to be the same person many of you are inquiring about from Saturday's protest.

"According to our officers on the ground, the protester was still in the area after commands to leave the area were given.

"Gas was deployed in the area and the protester bent over to pick up the canister to throw it back at officers as many others were trying to do.

"When he bent over another canister was deployed in the area and that canister skipped and hit the protester in the eye. There was no deliberate deployment of gas to any persons head."

'SPREADING MISINFORMATION'

Brake denied picking up the canister and said about the police statement: "FWPD spreading misinformation. I never picked or tried to pick up a canister and I was not bending over when I got I was hit."

This incident comes just one day after journalist, activist, and mom-of-two Linda Tirado was left blind in one eye while reporting on protests.

Ms. Tirado, 37, drove to Minneapolis from Nashville to report on the protests.

After running from tear gas that was shot out by police, Ms. Tirado's protective goggles slipped off her face.

In a telephone interview after being released from the hospital, she told the : "I was aiming my next shot, put my camera down for a second, and then my face exploded.

"I immediately felt blood and was screaming, ‘I’m press! I’m press!’”

Ms. Tirado said the shot, which she thought was a rubber bullet, came from the direction of the police.

Demonstrators carried her away from the scene and the photographer was in surgery within the hour.

Doctors told the mom-of-two that she is not likely to recover her vision in her left eye.

Ms. Tirado is one of a number of journalists who were attacked or arrested during the protests.

A television reporter in Louisville, Kentucky was hit on live television by an officer who appeared to be aiming at her causing her to shout on the air: "I'm getting shot! I'm getting shot!"