MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota woman said she was protesting peacefully last year when a Minneapolis police officer shot a projectile and hit her eye, causing permanent damage.
The lawsuit states that Ana Maria Gelhaye and other protestors were outside the former Third Precinct in the early afternoon of May 27, protesting the murder of George Floyd. It states that she was livestreaming to Facebook when MPD officers began firing projectiles and tear gas at the protesters -- hitting her in the eye.
Court documents filed in the lawsuit include images from Gelhaye's livestream, including some that show her injury right after she was hit.
According to the lawsuit, no warnings were given before the officer fired. The lawsuit states that Gelhaye was not behaving aggressively and was never charged with a crime.
According to the lawsuit, the projectile that hit Gelhaye is believed to be a 40 millimeter “less lethal” round. The suit claims it caused "severe and permanent damage" and led to extensive medical bills.
"Making matters worse, no MPD officer rendered aid to Gelhaye after she was shot," reads part of the lawsuit. Instead, bystanders with medical backgrounds provided first aid before she was taken to a local hospital's emergency department.
The lawsuit seeks monetary damages for "Defendants’ violation of (Gelhaye's) constitutional rights under the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution."
The defendants specified in the lawsuit include the unnamed officer who fired the projectile that hit Gelhaye. Also specified are 7 other unnamed officers who were present, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, and the City of Minneapolis.
The City of Minneapolis declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Gelhaye is not the first protester to come forward about the injuries they received from police use of "less-lethal" rounds. One young woman told KARE 11 that she was hit just below the eye while walking back to her car trying to beat a curfew in May 2020.
Additionally, freelance photographer Linda Tirado said she was blinded in one eye after being hit in the face while covering a protest in Minneapolis. Other journalists in the area spoke about similar experiences.
A federal lawsuit filed by the ACLU claims law enforcement “without any forewarning, deployed less-lethal ballistics and chemical irritants against the demonstrators.”
That lawsuit also states, “Numerous journalists reported injuries sustained as a result of law enforcement’s unforewarned, indiscriminate use of riot control tactics against clearly identifiable members of the news media.”
MORE ABOUT "LESS-LETHAL" ROUNDS: KARE 11 Investigates: State refuses to identify weapons used against protesters
