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Los Angeles Police Department fires ‘less lethals’ at protesters at close range

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The LAPD came out in force to attempt to control protesters outraged about the Not Guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial. Zimmerman walked after having shot Trayvon Martin to death. The mostly white jury found that Zimmerman acted in self defense when he killed the black teenager.

Streets of major American cities erupted in protest after the verdict was announced. In Los Angeles, seemingly without a hint of historical awareness, the LAPD responded to largely peaceful protests with violence, shooting off 'rubber' buckshot at demonstrators armed only with their outrage. The British medical journal The Lancet has previously advised that the use of so-called 'rubber' bullets, which are actually metal or steel coated with a thin layer of rubber, be discontinued for civilian crowd control purposes. These weapons can kill, especially at close range.

You can see a number of examples of police violence against peaceful demonstrators in the video embedded above. It looks quite different from the birds-eye-view the local news stations often feed us when hundreds or thousands take the streets to demand justice. 

Below is an image of a woman who was reportedly shot by the LAPD at the demonstration.

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