I came down to the protest at 8:30pm, Saturday night with a backpack full of water bottles and granola bars. I was also carrying two gallons of water to help wash off anyone who had been exposed to tear gas. As I approached the corner of Clinton and Superior, a SWAT vehicle mounted the curb and law enforcement jumped out. I dropped the water and put my hands up in the air. Moments later I was struck in the abdomen with what I later found out to be a tear gas canister. I turned to run and was hit once more on my hip, and twice more as I was running. I looked over my shoulder as i ran and saw two officers running after me.
Fearing I’d be charged with resisting arrest, I stopped running and put my hands in the air. I was tackled to the ground, handcuffed, and escorted back behind police lines, where I then experienced the burning sensation of the tear gas which still hung in the air. As I sat in the side of the road coughing and gasping, an officer came up to me with a bottle of water asking if I would like a drink. Before I could answer, he added “I didn’t think so” as he poured it out on the ground. The last thing I saw before I was placed into the back of a cop car was law enforcement pouring out the two gallons of water I had brought.
