Man injured in nightly protests shares story: ‘I thought I was going to die’
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) — For the better part of two months, protests in the Rose City have been happening night after night. They stem from the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
As the protests have progressed in Portland, they have seen nightly violence as the night goes on. They start peaceful and they often divulge into some protesters clashing with police. In recent weeks, the clashes have been over federal police brought in to protect the federal courthouse and other buildings in downtown Portland.
With those clashes comes injuries, not only to police, but to protesters as well. On social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, there are many stories being shared.
On Thursday, more than a week after he was hit in the head by a projectile, Andre Miller shared his story. Miller says he’s been protesting and calling for change when it comes to Black lives and systemic racism.
“We pretty much make sure that everybody is safe, we walk around and make sure there are no outside agitators,” Miller said.
In the early morning hours of July 22, Miller says he was hit by a projectile fired by federal officers.
“I got in between Fourth and Fifth and Main and that is when I realized something had hit me in the head,” Miller said.
He was live streaming to Facebook when the incident happened. In the minutes that followed, you can see the rush to get Miller some help and to hospital.
“Once I realized that I was bleeding, I turned to my fiancée and said I am hit, I am hit, and as soon as I said I was hit, a whole bunch of blood just starting going down by face,” Miller said. “I really thought that I was going to die.”
Fragments of what Miller was hit with are still needing to be removed more than a week later.
Miller has sought legal counsel and plans to file a lawsuit against the federal government in the coming days.
Across the fence from protesters, police have also reported injuries. The same night Miller was hurt, a federal officer suffered chemical burns from a firework. According to press releases from Homeland Security dating back to July 18, at least 38 federal officers have been injured in some way from nightly violence.
FOX 12 has reached out to federal officials for comment about Miller’s injuries as well as a request to speak with officers who have been injured. Officials have not yet responded.
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