Graphics by Ally J. Levine, Minami Funakoshi and Travis Hartman
PUBLISHED JUNE 5, 2020
Law enforcement officers across the United States are using a variety of weapons on protesters during demonstrations against systemic racism and police brutality. George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. The fatal encounter has triggered a wave of protests across the country and around the world. Many of the events have been peaceful but some have turned violent, with scenes of arson, looting and clashes with police.
Authorities have imposed curfews on dozens of cities across the country, the most since the aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.
Anti-protest weapons
Anti-protest weapons
Chemical irritants
Kinetic impact projectiles
Disorientation device
Pepper spray, tear gas canister, pepper canister and balls
Wooden and rubber bullets, sponge round and sting-ball grenade
Flashbang grenade
Chemical irritants
Kinetic impact projectiles
Disorientation device
Pepper spray, tear gas canister, pepper canister and balls
Wooden and rubber bullets, sponge round and sting-ball grenade
Flashbang grenade
Often described as non-lethal, these weapons can seriously injure, disable and even kill. Police have used them against peaceful protesters as well as members of the press during the demonstrations.
Chemical irritants
Chemical irritants include tear gas and pepper spray, which cause sensations of burning, pain and inflammation of the airways.
Public health and infectious diseases experts have opposed the use of chemical irritants such as tear gas, saying in an online petition that they could increase risk for COVID-19 by “making the respiratory tract more susceptible to infection.”
Because chemical irritants can spread widely, bystanders and individuals other than the intended targets can be exposed to the chemicals.
Tear gas
Tear gas has been widely and frequently used by police to disperse protesters. CS or CN gas are chemical compound powders that spray from canisters. They produce a burning sensation in the eyes and mouth that incapacitates.
Launcher
Canisters
Filled with tear gas, rubber rounds or plastic rounds
Tear gas canister
Minneapolis | May 29
Atlanta | June 1
Pepper spray and balls
Police have shot protesters with pepper spray both from handheld devices and projectiles. While pepper spray is chemically distinct from tear gas, it produces similar effects: burning and watering of the eyes and skin.
Police have also fired pepper balls — small projectiles containing chemical irritants. Such projectiles can contain PAVA spray, an irritant similar to pepper spray, as well as CS gas. The balls can be shot from launchers or modified paintball guns.
Pepper ball gun
Hand-held
pepper spray
Minneapolis | May 27
Louisville, Kentucky | May 29
Protester defenses
Protesters have defended themselves against chemical irritants such as tear gas in multiple ways. Sometimes they have thrown canisters back with gloved hands, used traffic cones to trap the canister and therefore the gas from spreading, and pushed the gas away from themselves with leaf blowers.
Cincinnati | June 1
Seattle | June 3
Athens, Georgia | May 27
Protesters have used umbrellas as shields and doused themselves with milk to help diffuse the burning sensations of pepper spray.
Protesters have used umbrellas as shields and doused themselves with milk to help diffuse the burning sensations of pepper spray.
Seattle | June 3
What police are shooting
Kinetic impact projectiles include rubber, plastic, wooden, and “sponger” bullets, which are shot from launchers and guns. They can be fired as single shots or in groups of multiple projectiles, and can severely bruise or penetrate the skin.
A 2017 survey published by the British Medical Journal found that injuries from such kinetic impact projectiles caused death in 2.7% of cases.
Rubber and plastic bullets
Protesters have been hit by a variety of rubber, plastic and “sponger” bullets. Reuters journalists in Minneapolis were shot by police with 40mm hard plastic projectiles during a protest in May.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city’s police department will minimize the use of rubber projectiles during peaceful protests going forward.
Projectile launcher
Atlanta | June 1
Wooden bullets
Protesters in Columbus, Ohio reported having been shot with wooden bullets by police forces. Images online showed wooden dowel-shaped rods sliced into small, bullet-sized projectiles. The Columbus Police Department confirmed they used those devices against protesters on May 30 and said they are known as “knee knockers.”
Sting-ball grenades
Protesters have reported police using sting-ball grenades, which upon explosion spray the surrounding area with rubber pellets. In addition to the rubber balls, the grenades can contain chemical agents or explode with bright light and sound.
Protester defenses
Protesters have also protected themselves from projectiles by wearing helmets. Some have used picnic tables as improvised shields.
Memphis, Tennessee | May 31
What police are shooting
Kinetic impact projectiles include rubber, plastic, wooden, and “sponger” bullets, which are shot from launchers and guns. They can be fired as single shots or in groups of multiple projectiles, and can severely bruise or penetrate the skin.
A 2017 survey published by the British Medical Journal found that injuries from such kinetic impact projectiles caused death in 2.7% of cases.
Rubber and plastic bullets
Protesters have been hit by a variety of rubber, plastic and “sponger” bullets. Reuters journalists in Minneapolis were shot by police with 40mm hard plastic projectiles during a protest in May.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city’s police department will minimize the use of rubber projectiles during peaceful protests going forward.
Projectile launcher
Atlanta | June 1
Wooden bullets
Protesters in Columbus, Ohio reported having been shot with wooden bullets by police forces. Images online showed wooden dowel-shaped rods sliced into small, bullet-sized projectiles. The Columbus Police Department confirmed they used those devices against protesters on May 30 and said they are known as “knee knockers.”
Sting-ball grenades
Protesters have reported police using sting-ball grenades, which upon explosion spray the surrounding area with rubber pellets. In addition to the rubber balls, the grenades can contain chemical agents or explode with bright light and sound.
Protester defenses
Protesters have also protected themselves from projectiles by wearing helmets. Some have used picnic tables as improvised shields.
New York City | June 3
Louisville, Kentucky | May 29
Disorientation devices
Disorientation devices, commonly known as flashbangs or stun grenades, explode with bright light and sound in order to stun and disorient demonstrators. They can cause severe burns when fired at close range.
Constructed like a conventional grenade, they are thrown into crowds. The bright flash and the loud bang can cause temporary blindness, temporary loss of hearing and loss of balance. Parts of the device can burst and fly as shrapnel.
From outrage to reform
Many protesters and organizers have voiced the need to transform outrage over Floyd’s death into a renewed civil rights movement and to seek reforms to America’s criminal justice system.
Terrence Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, joined an outdoor memorial in Brooklyn where many in the crowd knelt in a symbol of protest and chanted, “No justice, no peace.”
He urged the crowd to continue to seek justice but to avoid violence, saying, “My brother wasn’t about that.”
SourcesReuters; American Civil Liberties Union
Law enforcement officers take position during a protest against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Photo by Reuters/Lucas Jackson
Protestors march against the death of George Floyd in New York City on June 4, 2020. Photo by Reuters/Andrew Kelly
Photo credits
Tear gas launcher photo by Reuters/Lucas Jackson; Kicking tear gas canister photo by Reuters/Dustin Chambers; Throwing tear gas canister photo by The Enquirer / Meg Vogel via USA Today Network; Traffic cone photo by Reuters/Lindsey Wasson; Leaf blower photo by Athens Banner-Herald/Joshua L. Jones via USA Today Network; Police using pepper spray photo by Reuters/Eric Miller; Police shooting pepperball gun photo by Reuters/Bryan Woolston; Umbrella photo by Reuters/Lindsey Wasson; Milk photo by The Leaf-Chronicle/Henry Taylor via USA Today Network; Projectile launcher photo by Reuters/Dustin Chambers; Helmet photo by Reuters/Eduardo Munoz; Table photo by Courier Journal/Alton Strupp via USA Today Network
Reporting by
Mimi Dwyer
Illustrations by
Wen Foo and Ally J. Levine
Editing by
Christine Chan and Lisa Shumaker
Disorientation devices
Disorientation devices, commonly known as flashbangs or stun grenades, explode with bright light and sound in order to stun and disorient demonstrators. They can cause severe burns when fired at close range.
Constructed like a conventional grenade, they are thrown into crowds. The bright flash and the loud bang can cause temporary blindness, temporary loss of hearing and loss of balance. Parts of the device can burst and fly as shrapnel.
From outrage to reform
Many protesters and organizers have voiced the need to transform outrage over Floyd’s death into a renewed civil rights movement and to seek reforms to America’s criminal justice system.
Terrence Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, joined an outdoor memorial in Brooklyn where many in the crowd knelt in a symbol of protest and chanted, “No justice, no peace.”
He urged the crowd to continue to seek justice but to avoid violence, saying, “My brother wasn’t about that.”
SourcesReuters; American Civil Liberties Union
Law enforcement officers take position during a protest against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Photo by Reuters/Lucas Jackson
Protestors march against the death of George Floyd in New York City on June 4, 2020. Photo by Reuters/Andrew Kelly
Photo credits
Tear gas launcher photo by Reuters/Lucas Jackson; Kicking tear gas canister photo by Reuters/Dustin Chambers; Throwing tear gas canister photo by The Enquirer / Meg Vogel via USA Today Network; Traffic cone photo by Reuters/Lindsey Wasson; Leaf blower photo by Athens Banner-Herald/Joshua L. Jones via USA Today Network; Police using pepper spray photo by Reuters/Eric Miller; Police shooting pepperball gun photo by Reuters/Bryan Woolston; Umbrella photo by Reuters/Lindsey Wasson; Milk photo by The Leaf-Chronicle/Henry Taylor via USA Today Network; Projectile launcher photo by Reuters/Dustin Chambers; Helmet photo by Reuters/Eduardo Munoz; Table photo by Courier Journal/Alton Strupp via USA Today Network
Reporting by
Mimi Dwyer
Illustrations by
Wen Foo and Ally J. Levine
Editing by
Christine Chan and Lisa Shumaker
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