Protester who lost eye from rubber bullet says officer harassed him at hearing
Alex Horell, injured during a protest last spring was charged with felony riot after his lawyer contacted the Pittsburgh police.
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A protester who lost his eye last spring during a public demonstration was charged with a felony after his lawyer contacted the Pittsburgh police about a possible lawsuit regarding his injury. Black Lives Matter protest in May 2020 after the murder of
George Floyd. He initially thought he was struck by a beanbag before coming to the conclusion that a rubber bullet caused his permanent injury.
Photo: Tim Murray Alex Horell Alex Horell lost his right eye last year. During a Black Lives Matter protest in Downtown Pittsburgh on May 30, 2020, Pittsburgh Police fired a less-lethal projectile either a rubber bullet, a bean bag, or a sponge round at Horell, striking him in the face. Horell, who lives in Pittsburgh s Morningside neighborhood, believes it was a rubber bullet, after initially thinking it was a beanbag. “I really distinctly remember being hit, that is what I really remember,” says Horell, who says he blacked out momentarily after being struck by the object. “Then I remember people shouting ‘Man down!’ and not realizing that it was about me. I remember people looking at my face coming to, like they were looking at a dead person. That is a pretty vivid memory.”