Current Events > Journalist paying $100 a month for 25 years after police shot her eye out

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://luke.substack.com/p/this-communal-grief-spills-over-and

On Friday May 29 journalist Linda Tirado was covering the uprising in Minneapolis when she was shot in the eye by law enforcement despite clearly identifying herself as press. She was rushed to surgery soon after but doctors were unable to save her vision. I spoke with Tirado the author of Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America about what happened that night, the lawsuit shes bringing against the police, and where she goes from here.

What were the circumstances of you being shot?

I had gotten into Minneapolis on Thursday evening and did some work on location. That was the first night the National Guard was there. Friday was the first night of curfew, which press were meant to be exempted from. I was maybe a block or two from the 3rd precinct at a Wells Fargo watching a car burning at the drive through. We saw protesters coming from the direction of the precinct and they said they had been gassed. I asked if they heard any warning and they said no.

I put on my mask and respirator and I went to take photos. I was lining up my establishing shot when I got hit in the face.

With a rubber bullet?

We believe it was a 40mm compressed foam bullet. The Minneapolis PD is very staunchly on record with the New York Times saying they havent used rubber bullets in twenty years. So depending on what were calling our rounds that blind people these days

This is kind of a stupid question, but what was your reaction? Did you know something really bad had happened right away?

Yeah, my first reaction was, oh fuck, this isnt good. My goggles came off. I was wearing protective eye gear. Any photographer working in tear gas is gonna need that. I had a laceration on my eyebrow that was bleeding freely, and the gas started hitting me. So I squeezed my eyes shut and started screaming that Im press. I remember somebody came and took my arm and said were going to take you to the medics. Then we ran for a little while. I dont know how long. Somebody patched up my eye, and they tossed me in a janky old van and drove me to the hospital.

Was there any hope of trying to save your eye or was it too late?

It was pretty far gone. I remember I tweeted from the hospital that I was going into surgery and they were going to try to save the eye. I didnt really have a good conception if that meant the vision or the organ. I woke up the next day and they were like, well, the good news is you dont have covid, we had to test you before surgery. The bad news is youre blind. I was like, alright, cool. I remember thinking all you have to do to get basic medical care is get shot in the face.

Do you have insurance?

No!

Are you fucked?

Oh completely. Im in for $58,000 so far between two surgeries. And those are just the ones I know about. Ive got a few more surgeries coming up, so The hospital called me yesterday for the first time since emergency surgery, and it was some lady who wanted to sign me up for Minnesota Medicaid. Im not a resident so she said call these other people. I called them and they said we cant help you youre not a resident, call these other people. All of them had a different number that I owed them. I finally got through to the business office and they said we can set you up on a payment plan. We gave you an uninsured discount, so you only owe us $29,000. You can pay us $2,900 a month for the next ten months and youre good to go.

Very simply!

I laughed so hard the lady started laughing. I explained to her theres no fuck off way thats going to happen. So theyve got me on $100 a month. It will take me just under twenty five years to pay off the first surgery.

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Another Antifa plant most likely

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Meanwhile people are raising millions for bail for the guys who killed Floyd and are raising funds for the guy who shot Brooks.

This gal gets nothing.

That's the "all alives matter" crowd for you.

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pig that shot her should be in prison

pig pensions should pay all of this

The american healthcare system is inhumane.

Guns_of_Verdun posted...

Meanwhile people are raising millions for bail for the guys who killed Floyd and are raising funds for the guy who shot Brooks.

This gal gets nothing.

That's the "all alives matter" crowd for you.

Arent people also raising bail money for protesters?

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She should be suing, theres no reason she should be paying any amount of money for that. She was exempt from the curfew, shes press. Wtf.

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Hope she does a go fund me or something. Losing your and having to pay for it is ridiculous.

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SolidShadow3 posted...

She should be suing, theres no reason she should be paying any amount of money for that. She was exempt from the curfew, shes press. Wtf.

She is suing.

>Get shot by police incorrectly
>Have to pay 60k in medical bills

Lol america

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SolidShadow3 posted...

She should be suing, theres no reason she should be paying any amount of money for that. She was exempt from the curfew, shes press. Wtf.

I believe she did according to this tweet if that is her:
https://twitter.com/KillerMartinis/status/1270802802315493380?s=19


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Yeah but if we take things slowly and reset to normal every time a Republican wins, maybe her great grandchildren will have the option of universal healthcare.

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SaltyBooboo posted...

I believe she did according to this tweet if that is her:
https://twitter.com/KillerMartinis/status/1270802802315493380?s=19

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzItS5BmUNw

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Guns_of_Verdun posted...

Meanwhile people are raising millions for bail for the guys who killed Floyd and are raising funds for the guy who shot Brooks.

This gal gets nothing.

That's the "all alives matter" crowd for you.

All Lives Matter =/= Freedom from consequences for your action.

SolidShadow3 posted...

She should be suing, theres no reason she should be paying any amount of money for that. She was exempt from the curfew, shes press. Wtf.

Did the State arrest her?
She's exempt from curfew, not a guarantee for whatever may happen by going to the frontline of a protest.

HiddenRoar posted...

All Lives Matter =/= Freedom from consequences for your action.

Her action being doing her job...

And the consequence being the police attacking her.

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Holy shit. She needs to sue the fuck out of the police

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where is the rebelpepper artwork for this journalist?



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HiddenRoar posted...

Did the State arrest her?
She's exempt from curfew, not a guarantee for whatever may happen by going to the frontline of a protest.

Good to know the State is allowed to shoot me without consequence if I'm just in the wrong place at the wrong time

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hockeybub89 posted...

Good to know the State is allowed to shoot me without consequence if I'm just in the wrong place at the wrong time

If you were walking down the sidewalk, a shootout occurs with cops as a result of a drug bust, and you get shot during the altercation, the courts will likely find the State/cops at no fault, even if the shot came from a cop.

So...

Guns_of_Verdun posted...

Her action being doing her job...

And the consequence being the police attacking her.

Being a reporter does not magically grant immunity from every risks associated with the job.

The police should have to pay. Should come out of the officer's pension because fuck him.
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HiddenRoar posted...

Being a reporter does not magically grant immunity from every risks associated with the job.

So you're saying police should be allowed to attack and brutalize reporters with impunity because "They know the risks"?

That's bulltshit.

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The hell kind of shitty press outfit doesn't offer benefits?

These types of events are why I respect journalism. That being said, I wonder how far she'll get with this lawsuit. She is essentially in a war zone. How do you sue someone in this environment?

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SolidShadow3 posted...

She should be suing, theres no reason she should be paying any amount of money for that. She was exempt from the curfew, shes press. Wtf.

She should have been wearing ballistic rated safety goggles. They're about 20 bucks.

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Questionmarktarius posted...

The hell kind of shitty press outfit doesn't offer benefits?

She, like a lot of journalists, is a freelancer

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HiddenRoar posted...

If you were walking down the sidewalk, a shootout occurs with cops as a result of a drug bust, and you get shot during the altercation, the courts will likely find the State/cops at no fault, even if the shot came from a cop.

So...

Being a reporter does not magically grant immunity from every risks associated with the job.

Please dont procreate

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Sad_Face posted...

that being said, I wonder how far she'll get with this lawsuit

literally nowhere. and that's completely fucked. we need to add it to the list of demands.

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MaxEffingBemis posted...

Please dont procreate

How dare he point out the reality that you don't like.

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cops will never change no matter what

HiddenRoar posted...

All Lives Matter =/= Freedom from consequences for your action.

Did the State arrest her?
She's exempt from curfew, not a guarantee for whatever may happen by going to the frontline of a protest.

ThePrinceFish posted...

How dare he point out the reality that you don't like.

This isn't your everyday bootlicking. This is advanced bootlicking!


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legendary_zell posted...

This isn't your everyday bootlicking. This is advanced bootlicking!

If it's bootlicking to acknowledge that her lawsuit isn't going to go anywhere, then I guess?

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It's bootlicking to derive schadenfreude from it

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Alexhander posted...

It's bootlicking to derive schadenfreude from it

Stealing this.

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ThePrinceFish posted...

If it's bootlicking to acknowledge that her lawsuit isn't going to go anywhere, then I guess?

oh yay, more armchair lawyers spewing bullshit.

Guns_of_Verdun posted...

So you're saying police should be allowed to attack and brutalize reporters with impunity because "They know the risks"?

That's bulltshit.

No only is it bullshit, it's fucking unconstitutional.

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murica

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Ive been hit square in the eye with a rock (and lost some of my vision) and the pain was insane.

I couldnt imagine what a damn bullet would feel like

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Here's a fun thing, because I'm busy with bar prep and I'm not going to go into a full blown analysis re: qualified immunity and battery/negligence.

Assumption of the risk is tempered by what the person against whom the assumption is asserted actually knew.

We have this statement in the interview:

We believe it was a 40mm compressed foam bullet. The Minneapolis PD is very staunchly on record with the New York Times saying they havent used rubber bullets in twenty years. So depending on what were calling our rounds that blind people these days

If true, that's a strong piece of evidence against assumption of the risk.

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if only the gop followed the law

Odoylerules posted...

oh yay, more armchair lawyers spewing bullshit.

Rofl at the most ironic post of the day

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