Cops launch investigation after officers fired bean bags at protesters carrying 20-year-old demonstrator with a cracked skull at George Floyd protest in Texas
- The Austin Police Department launched a probe into why officers fired bean bag munitions upon a crowd of George Floyd protesters May 31
- The crowd was seeking medical attention for critically injured 20-year-old demonstrator Justin Howell amid the protests over Floyd's police-related killing
- Police Chief Brian Manley says the Austin incident, which was caught on video that was posted online, is currently under review
- The footage shows the crowd of protesters carrying Howell after he was hit in the head with a less-lethal projectile
- A crowd lifted Howell and was instructed by officers to bring him to police headquarters
- But the footage shows cops opening fire again with bean bag munitions just as the crowd approaches the building
Police are investigating why officers fired bean bag munitions upon a crowd of protesters seeking medical attention for a critically injured 20-year-old demonstrator amid George Floyd protests in Austin, Texas.
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley says a review has been launched into the May 31 incident which was caught on video.
Justin Howell, who is black, had joined the protests outside the city's police headquarters at around 11pm.
Manley claims a protester next to Howell threw a bottle at police, and officers fired bean bag rounds in return, one of which mistakenly hit the political science student in the head. He suffered a fractured skull.
When Howell fell to the ground, others in the crowd carried him away, and were apparently told by officers to take him to the police HQ, Manley revealed.
But footage shows cops opening fire on the group with the bean bag munitions just as they approach the building.
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Police in Austin, Texas, are investigating why officers fired beanbags at a crowd of protesters seeking medical attention for a critically injured 20-year-old demonstrator
Manley says that Howell (pictured) was rushed to a hospital in critical condition. It was later learned through his family that the student suffered a fractured skull and brain damage
'It's currently under review,' Manley says of the incident in a video statement he posted on Twitter.
'It was reported that they were fired upon with less-lethal munitions as they brought this victim towards the officers to get him help,' Manley says in the footage.
The chief said that the young man was rushed to a hospital in critical condition. It was later learned through his family that Howell suffered a fractured skull and brain damage.
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Manley said cops 'immediately began a level one incident investigation' and offered condolences to Howell's family.
'We are praying for this young man and his family and we're hoping his condition improves quickly.
Manley claimed Howell was initially injured because cops shot the wrong person after officers who were guarding the department's headquarters building were pelted with rocks, water bottles and a backpack.
Howell is a student at Texas State University
'[Justin] has a fractured skull,' his older brother, Joshua Howell, a student at Texas A&M University, wrote in his student newspaper, The Battalion.
'He has brain damage. Doctors anticipate that when he wakes up, he will have difficulty telling his left from his right.'
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley says the incident of the crowd being fired upon by bean bags is currently under review. The chief is pictured in a video statement where he made his comments about the investigation
Howell's severe injuries come as experts warn that the use of 'less lethal' bean bags, tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs to quell unrest in the wake of Floyd's police-related killing could leave victims with severe injuries.
These include permanent vision loss, brain damage, internal bleeding, hearing and respiratory failure, and even death.
A bean bag round, also known as a flexible baton round, is considered a non-lethal projectile that is usually fired from a 12-gauge shotgun.
Each round holds a small fabric ‘pillow’ that is filled with lead pellets weighing about 40 grams.
When it is fired, the bean bag bursts out of the shotgun at a speed of between 230 and 300ft per second.
The bag spreads out in flight and distributes its impact over an area of about one square inch.
The purpose of using bean bag rounds is to render an individual who does not pose a deadly threat to law enforcement temporarily immobile by causing muscle spasm or some other physical injury.
The Austin protest was one of many that have broken out across the US over the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd, who died on Memorial Day after he was arrested for allegedly trying to make a purchase with a counterfeit $20 bill.
He was arrested by officer Derek Chauvin, who was caught on video kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
During that time Floyd repeatedly yelled out that he was struggling for breath, before he lost consciousness and died.
Chauvin has now been charged with second degree murder. Three other officers who watched the incident have now also been charged with aiding and abetting second degree murder.
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