List of police violence incidents during George Floyd protests


There have been many incidents of police enforcing the law during the George Floyd protests, an ongoing series of riots and demonstrations against police activity and enforcing the law in policing. The riots began on May 26, 2020, following the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white man employed as a Minneapolis police officer, who knelt on Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds during an arrest the previous day.
Lawyer T. Greg Doucette and mathematician Jason Miller compiled a list of videos posted on Twitter showing evidence of alleged police brutality, which as of June 16 contains more than 780 videos. Investigative journalism website Bellingcat documented over 140 police violence incidents against journalists during the protests.
Doucette NumberDateLocationDetails
1May 28, 2020HoustonA Houston Police Department officer riding a horse was filmed trampling a woman. Mayor Sylvester Turner apologized for the incident.
2May 29, 2020New York CityNew York City Police Department officer Vincent D'Andraia shoved a woman, Dounya Zayer, to the ground at a protest in Brooklyn. The officer was recorded throwing down the protester with both hands while allegedly calling her a "stupid fucking bitch"; the protester was hospitalized after the assault and said she suffered a seizure. On June 9, the officer has been charged with assault, criminal mischief, harassment and menacing.
3May 29, 2020New York CityAs police cars drove past protesters, an officer opened his passenger door, causing it to hit a protester. The suspected perpetrator received modified duty.
4May 29, 2020New York CityOutside Barclays Center, police were filmed repeatedly striking protesters with clubs after they had fallen on the concrete.
5May 29, 2020Las Vegas80 arrested as police clashed with protesters on the Vegas strip.
6May 29, 2020Fort Wayne, IndianaA video purports to show an officer spray a protester for photography.
7May 28, 2020MinneapolisAn officer in the tail car of a caravan of squad cars is filmed indiscriminately spraying a chemical agent out the window onto bicyclists and people in a crosswalk.
10May 29, 2020MinneapolisCNN journalist Omar Jimenez and his three-person news crew were arrested by a group of Minnesota state police officers while reporting live on protests in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to Jimenez, he was arrested for failing to move back from the position where they were reporting after being ordered to, despite their media credentials being visible and valid, and their agreeing to move where directed.
May 29, 2020MinneapolisSwedish Expressen correspondent Nina Svanberg is shot with a rubber bullet and VG photojournalist Thomas Nilsson has a red laser sight trained on him.
11May 29, 2020DenverA Denver 7 News crew reported police targeting them with paintballs and tear gas. Their photographer was shot four times and their camera was destroyed.
12May 29, 2020Louisville, KentuckyA Louisville Metro Police Department officer was filmed firing pepper balls directly at a WAVE 3 News crew, hitting correspondent Kaitlin Rust and photojournalist James Dobson.
16May 29, 2020MinneapolisJournalist and author Linda Tirado was permanently blinded in one eye after police shot her with a non-lethal projectile.
17May 29, 2020AtlantaAn officer was filmed using his bicycle to shove a black woman who was protesting.
18May 30, 2020Columbus, OhioColumbus Police were filmed pepper spraying Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, Commissioner Kevin Boyce, and Council President Shannon Hardin during a demonstration near the Ohio Statehouse.
19May 29, 2020DetroitOfficer charges and punches a protester.
20May 30, 2020 New York CityAn NYPD official in a white shirt shoves a protester.
21May 30, 2020Harrisburg, PennsylvaniaAs people tried to help a fallen protester, they are pepper-sprayed.
22May 29, 2020San Jose, CASan Jose Police Department officer Jared Yuen drew national attention on social media due to videos of his behaviour. Yuen was videoed holding a projectile launcher, telling a protester "Shut up, bitch", then within seconds he leaned around another officer to fire a projectile at close range, which caused a fight. In other videos, Yuen is filmed saying: "Let's get this motherfucker", or seen "smirking, licking his lips and rocking back and forth, looking a little too excited to be facing off with protesters", reported San Jose Inside. The videos were viewed over 10 million times, and thousands called for Yuen's firing. SJPD chief Eddie Garcia reacted that Yuen "let his emotions get the best of him, and it's not right", but he also called Yuen a "kid" and "good cop", "who has put his life on the line for the city multiple times." As a result, Yuen was removed from protest duties.
23May 30, 2020Columbus, OhioPolice a filmed pepper-spraying apparently-defenseless protesters.
24May 30, 2020Salt Lake CityDuring a live news broadcast, police filmed shoving an elderly man, causing him to fall to the pavement.
25May 30, 2020New York CityTwo NYPD vehicles were recorded ramming into protesters
26May 30, 2020MinneapolisA group of 20 Minneapolis police were filmed marching down a residential street, ordering people on their front porches to go inside. After a few demands, one of the officers shouts "light 'em up!" and marker rounds are shot at them.
27May 30, 2020Raleigh, North CarolinaPolice fire gas and non-lethal projectiles at protesters.
29May 30, 2020MinneapolisPolice force a reporter to the ground and pepper-spray him.
30May 30, 2020MinneapolisVeteran news photograper Tom Aviles was shot with a rubber-bullet and arrested.
31May 30, 2020PhiladelphiaPolice officer filmed repeatedly striking journalist with club.
32May 30, 2020SeattleA seven-year-old child was maced by police, with the aftermath documented by a viral video. Hours after the protest, Seattle police arrested in the person who recorded the video.
33May 30, 2020DenverLive news footage showed an officer push a photographer into an open fire.
35May 31, 2020 Columbus, OhioPolice filmed pepper-spraying seated protesters.
38May 30, 2020ChicagoJournalist Jonathan Ballew was broadcasting the protest when he was assaulted with a chemical agent.
39May 30, 2020ChicagoPolice employed clubs to disperse actor John Cusack, who was filming the protest.
40May 30, 2020DallasJournalist Kevin Krause photographed a woman who said she had been walking home with groceries when she was struck in the forehead by a police projectile.
41May 30, 2020SeattleOfficer placed his knee on the back of the neck of a suspect; after onlookers shouted for him to remove his knee from the man's neck, his partner pulled it off.
May 30, 2020Columbus, Ohio22-year-old Sarah Grossman was pepper-sprayed at a demonstration and later died in the hospital from acute respiratory issues. An autopsy is pending.
45May 30, 2020Erie, PAA seated 21-year old protester was filmed being kicked to the ground by an officer.
46May 31, 2020MinneapolisA news crew is broadcasting live when they come under fire from police projectiles.
47May 30, 2020MinneapolisPolice target a CBS news crew and strike a member with non-lethal projectiles.
48May 30, 2020New York CityOfficer approached a protester, ripped off the protester's mask, and pepper-sprayed the protester in the face.
50May 30, 2020Columbus OhioPolice filmed shooting a protester with a projectile.
52May 31, 2020SacramentoA teen was shot in the face with a rubber bullet.
May 30, 2020New York CityA medical worker at the Kings County Hospital Center left work and came across officers chasing an individual, and began to record the incident. Officers began to beat the worker for about 90 seconds, causing bruises and a head wound that required seven staples to close.
54May 30, 2020AtlantaOfficers from the Atlanta Police Department pulled two black students from their car, broke a car window, and used tasers to shock them. This came after officers arrested a classmate of theirs whom they wanted to pick up; an officer ordered the students to continue driving, which they complied. One officer claimed that one of the students possessed a gun, but no gun was found. One of the students stated that he was punched over 10 times in the back after being arrested. Within days, six officers were charged as a result of the incident; two were fired and four were put on administrative leave. The Fulton County District Attorney, Paul Howard, stated that the two college students were "innocent almost to the point of being naive".
55May 30, 2020San AntonioProtester films as police shoot him twice with less-lethal projectiles without physical provocation.
56May 31, 2020 DenverPolice shoot a protester with a pepperball round without provocation as he filmed them.
58May 30, 2020Fort Wayne, IndianaProtester shot in one eye and blinded by police.
59June 4, 2020DenverPolice shot tear gas at a couple in a vehicle waiting at a traffic stop in Denver. When the man came out of the vehicle to confront the officers because his pregnant wife was in the vehicle, the officers ordered him to move along. He refused and the officers opened fire on him and the vehicle with pepper balls.
60May 30, 2020Richmond, VirginiaPolice spray a man through the window of his home as he records them.
62May 31, 2020Charleston, South CarolinaPolice armored personnel carrier collides with another vehicle.
63May 30, 2020San DiegoPolice shot a 53-year old protester between the eyes with a projectile. The victim was placed in a medically-induced coma and was listed at risk for losing an eye.
64May 30, 2020MinneapolisPolice filmed slashing tires in a K-Mart parking lot.
65May 30, 2020La Mesa, CAA protestor was shot by police with a "less-lethal" bean bag round between her eyes.
68May 31, 2020Fort Lauderdale, FLPolice office hits a woman on the head as she kneels. The perpetrator was identified and suspended pending investigation.
69May 31, 2020Long Beach, CaliforniaJournalist shot in the throat by police rubber bullet.
73May 30, 2020Grand Rapids, MIOne officer pepper sprayed a protester and seconds later another fired a tear gas canister into his upper body, hitting him in the shoulder.
74May 31, 2020MinneapolisPolice cruisers were filmed spraying a chemical on crowds of protesters as they drove by.
75May 31, 2020Murfreesboro, TennesseeAs they drive-by protesters, police throw tear gas and flashbangs.
76May 31, 2020 Raleigh, NCFootage purports to show a protester shot in the back with a projectile before being tackled by police.
78May 31, 2020Charleston, South CarolinaA kneeling protester is arrested after telling police "I love each and every one of you. I cry at night, because I feel your pain."
79May 31, 2020MinneapolisA German news crew is shot by police projectiles.
80May 30, 2020Kansas CityAfter a protester talks to police from a distance, police arrest and spray him.
96May 30, 2020DetroitAs a crowd walks away from police, one individual is assaulted by police, physically and verbally. The victim is tackled by a second officer and sprayed by a third.
98June 1, 2020Louisville, Kentucky Local chef David McAtee was fatally shot by the Kentucky National Guard.
99May 31, 2020MiamiVideo purports to show a protester near the Freedom Tower who speaks to officers as they prepare to depart in a vehicle, only to be falsely arrested for curfew violation.
100June 1, 2020D.C.CNN journalist reports being pinned and clubbed in the knee by police
104May 30, 2020DallasBrandon Saenz, a 26-year-old black man, was at a protest outside City Hall when he was shot in the face by police. The projectile shattered the victim's left eye.
106May 31, 2020AustinPregnant woman shot by police with projectile.
107May 31, 2020Los AngelesUS Marine Corp veteran seriously injured after being shot in head by police with a rubber bullet.
108June 1, 2020Long Beach, CaliforniaPolice photographed pointing a caniste-launcher at a man with a young child on his shoulders.
110June 1, 2020Columbus, OhioKneeling protesters are filmed as they are sprayed by police.
111May 31, 2020IndianapolisThe Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department was filmed arresting two women, with a male officer holding one of them. The officer's arm was positioned near her chest. She twisted free and took a few steps, officers fired pepper balls at her feet and struck her with batons. An officer then pressed her to the ground with his hand and a baton resting on her neck. When questioned by another woman, an officer shoved that woman back before she was subdued by police.
112June 1, 2020Des Moines, IAPolice gas and arrest a reporter for Iowa's KCCI.
114May 31, 2020ChicagoOutside Brickyard Mall, police are filmed swarming a car, smashing its windows, and pulling an occupant to the ground. An investigation was opened.
115May 31, 2020 DenverWhen asked "what is going to happen at 8", an officer replies "What's gonna happen is we're gonna start beating the fuck out of you."
116June 1, 2020 PhiladelphiaAs four police violently arrest a man, an office appears to place the man's hand on a police club, followed by beating the man to 'disarm' him.
120June 1, 2020Washington, D.C.An Australian news crew conducting a live broadcast are battered police using a riot shield and clubs.
121May 30, 2020AtlantaPolice appear to punch a man repeatedly during arrest, tackle a woman.
122June 1, 2020Richmond, VirginiaPeaceful protesters at the city's Robert E. Lee monument are gassed by police. The department issues an apology and reported that the involved officers "will be disciplined because their actions were outside dept protocols and directions given."
123May 30, 2020Los AngelesPolice filmed clubbing nonviolent protesters.
136May 31, 2020Washington, D.C.
President Trump went to the historic St. John's Episcopal Church, whose basement had been damaged by fire, and posed for pictures in front of it holding up a Bible. To clear the route so that Trump could walk there, police and national guardsmen used tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash grenades to clear a crowd of peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square, resulting in significant news coverage and denunciation by the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.
137June 1, 2020Riverside, CaliforniaNews broadcast footage purports to show police smashing a car window. The sheriff department claimed windows were not broken.
138June 1, 2020SeattleAs she broadcasts on-air, reporter Jo Ling Kent is fired upon and nearly hit by a police canister.
143June 1, 2020JoiletMayor Bob O'Dekirk personally scuffled with a protester, aided by police.
145June 1, 2020Columbus, OhioJournalists peppersprayed by police.
147June 1, 2020DenverJournalist shot by police projectile as he broadcasts.
148May 30, 2020Los AngelesTwo protesters standing in a deserted street are shot by police rubber bullets.
149June 1, 2020Des MoinesJournalist sprayed by police. Police announced they would conduct an 'internal review'.
150June 2, 2020 PhiladelphiaProtesters were filmed kneeling with hands up as police pulled their mask and goggles off and sprayed them.
151June 2, 2020Los AngelesA pedestrian is arrested at gunpoint.
152May 31, 2020New York CityHospital worker returning home from work is beaten by police.
155June 1, 2020 Los AngelesPolice filmed pointing weapon at residence.
157June 2, 2020 DenverPeaceful protesters are gassed by police. Elisabeth Epps, a member of the Denver Police use-of-force committee, resigned her post after she was shot by police projectiles.
163June 2, 2020Asheville, North CarolinaPolice filmed destroying medical supplies.
241May 31, 2020Austin20-year-old African American Texas State University student Justin Howell was shot in the head with a less lethal bean bag round by an Austin Police Department officer while protesting outside the police headquarters in Austin, Texas. Fellow protesters were instructed by police to carry the injured Howell toward them for medical aid, however, those protesters were then also fired upon by police. Howell was left in critical condition, with a fractured skull and brain damage.
387May 30—May 31, 2020MinneapolisOn these two days, Minnesota law enforcement slashed tires of unoccupied vehicles parked near protests. Video of the incidents showed indiscriminate slashing of every vehicle in a Kmart parking lot. Several journalists were affected by the event. The Minnesota State Patrol and the Anoka County Sheriff's Department later on June 8 admitted slashing tires. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety, which oversees the State Patrol stated that tires were slashed in "a few locations", "in order to stop behaviors such as vehicles driving dangerously". The Department further stated that some targeted vehicles contained potentially harmful items, to which Snopes commented that there appeared to be a logical "disconnect behind the idea of cutting tires when threatening objects were allegedly located inside" the vehicle.
May 31, 2020Los AngelesA Los Angeles Police Department vehicle was filmed driving into a small crowd of protestors on the city streets. A protestor was briefly pinned underneath the vehicle.
May 31, 2020Fort LauderdaleWhile leaving a crowd of protesters, a police officer shoved a protester forward into the crowd. The protester was on her knees with raised hands.
June 1, 2020PhiladelphiaA Temple University student was released from custody on June 3, after his arrest on June 1, on charges of assaulting an officer. Video showed an officer striking him in the head with a baton and another placed his knee on the back of his neck/head to pin the student's face to the street. The officer who used a baton, Police Staff Inspector Joseph Bologna, was suspended and charged with aggravated assault. Other incidents caught on video involving Bologna regarding the 2020 protests saw him tackling a female protester who had touched his bicycle, lunging at a journalist, and hitting a security guard.
June 2, 2020Washington, D.C.An Australian journalist and cameraman were reporting live during a protest when the cameraman was struck in the chest by a riot shield and the reporter was hit with a police baton. Prior to being stuck the two yelled that they were media at the police.
June 2, 2020Vallejo, CA
22-year-old Argentine-American Sean Monterrosa was killed at 12:30 AM while kneeling with his hands raised above his waist when he was shot and killed with five bullets by a police officer. Police stated they mistook a hammer in Monterrosa's pocket for a gun. Police were responding to reported looting.
282June 4, 2020Buffalo
Martin Gugino, a 75-year-old man with a cane, was left bleeding from the head after approaching police officers and being shoved to the ground by the police. A video of the encounter shows an officer leaning down to examine him, but another officer then pulls the first officer away. Several other officers are seen walking by the man, motionless on the ground, without checking on him.
303June 2, 2020Los AngelesA wheelchair-bound man was shot in the face with a rubber projectile.
311June 4, 2020San DiegoAfter a protest, a woman was forcibly dragged into an unmarked car by unidentified men in civilian clothing. Unwilling to reveal where their prisoner would be taken, one of the assailants threatened bystanders: "You follow us, you will get shot! Do you understand me?!" The San Diego Police Department later confirmed the individuals were law enforcement officers and claimed the woman had hit police with a protest sign.
369June 2, 2020Richmond, VAA group of officers were filmed as one of them appeared to repeatedly spit at a woman in handcuffs.
June 8, 2020SeattleAt the East Precinct, a 26-year-old protester was shot in the chest with a blast ball as she stood 25 feet from the police line. Her heart stopped and street medics raced her unconscious body away on a makeshift stretcher as flash grenades exploded around them. Following chest compressions she was revived then taken to Virginia Mason Hospital. Though she went into cardiac arrest again at the hospital, doctors were able to keep her alive.
447May 30, 2020DenverA non-protester was blinded in one eye after being struck by a police projectile. The victim was walking to his car when he was reportedly shot in the eye, drive-by style, by police.
475June 12, 2020East Meadow, NYAs a protester walks surrounded by multiple officers, one of the officers stops abruptly, causing the protester to bump into them. The swarm of officers then pull the protester to the ground and place him under arrest.
480June 12, 2020Atlanta Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old black man, was shot and killed by an Atlanta Police Department officer on the night of June 12, 2020. Brooks, who had been asleep in his car until being woken by the police, had complied with a 41 minutes of questioning at the scene, but then resisted arrest, took a Taser from Officer Brosnan, and attempted to flee. Officer Rolfe shot Brooks with a handgun after Brooks fired that Taser at Officer Rolfe.
489June 4, 2020Woodlynne, NJOfficer was filmed pepper-spraying a non-violent black teen sitting on a stoop after the teen attempted to call his guardian.
514May 30, 2020Fort Wayne, IndianaA three-year-old girl was reported to have been intentionally gassed by police. According to the mother, who was not a protester, the officer "dead-looked at my daughter and threw the canister in front of her and it exploded up into her face."
529June 12, 2020Austin, TexasThe day after Austin Police Department Chief Brian Manley announced that the department would no longer perform chokeholds or neck restraints, an officer detaining 19-year-old Jarrid Cornell knelt on his neck while he was already pinned to the ground by two other officers.
530May 28, 2020Snohomish County, WashingtonThree officers were filmed pinning a man to the ground while one punched him repeatedly.
596June 21, 2020Columbus OhioA double-amputee is sprayed by police.
June 1, 2020Washington D.C.Despite clearly showing press credentials, complying with police instructions, and the curfew not yet being in effect: an MPD officer; unprovoked, charges a BBC Cameraman with a riot shield: knocking them backwards.
635June 25, 2020Columbus, OhioOfficers in paramilitary gear and assault weapons suddenly jump out of unmarked vans in order to abduct a protester.