A wheelchair-bound homeless man sustained grievous injuries after he was shot in the face by cops from Los Angeles Police department, during a crackdown on protesters gathered at LA's city hall.
Photographs of the profusely bleeding unnamed man sitting in a wheelchair went viral on social media, attracting widespread criticism from the netizens.
Cops Shot the Man With Rubber Bullets
The incident that took place on Tuesday happened while the police was trying to disperse a crowd of over 5,000 demonstrators after curfew was implemented at 6 pm.
According to the Daily Mercury, around 200 protesters who returned after the curfew time, fled into the surrounding streets with the police chasing them. As the fleeing protesters entered an apartment building to take refuge, the officers fired nonlethal rubber bullets towards them.
It was then, one of the fired bullets hit the homeless man, causing a bloody injury above his left eye. Shortly after, paramedics arrived at the spot to treat the injured homeless man, the outlet reported.
LAPD has refused to comment on the incident. "We cannot speculate on what caused this individual's injury without further investigation," LAPD authorities said, according to CBS radio host David Benaud.
Photographs of the Injured Man Go Viral on Social Media
Terming the conduct of the police officers 'completely unacceptable' photographer Kirk Tsonos, a witness of the shooting incident, posted the gruesome photographs on his Facebook page. "As we were being boxed in on Broadway & 5th Street to be arrested, LAPD decided that a completely unarmed homeless man in a wheelchair that had NOTHING to do with our protest was somehow a threat. They proceeded to inappropriately shoot 'nonlethal' rounds directly at his face, which is against the proper procedure for firing rubber bullets. This is completely unacceptable. This injustice needs to be held accountable," Tsonos wrote in his post.
The viral photographs triggered a reaction on social media targeting the LA police officers. "THIS is completely unacceptable, The officers who assaulted this man need to be fired and charged with assault and battery with intent to harm, etc.. I hope the man is okay and received all necessary medical attention, gets appropriate therapy and is compensated for his injuries directly from the officers pay," commented a user.
"good on ya LAPD, must be so proud to shoot an unarmed man in a wheelchair ," expressed another. "Talking about evil cops, what crossed a cops mind to think, that this poor innocent wheelchair men would do to him. To deserve a bullet in his face. They are shooting at ppl at their face on purpose," tweeted a user.
