A 40-year-old French construction worker known for his role in organizing Yellow Vest protests has been “handicapped for life” after he was struck in the eye with a rubber police bullet, his attorney said Sunday.
“He is in shock. He will be handicapped for life. It is a tragedy for him and his family,” said Rodrigues’s layer, Philippe de Veulle in an interview with BFM Television.
Jerome Rodrigues est rapidement pris en charge par les pompiers.#GiletsJaunes #ActeXI #Acte11 pic.twitter.com/ZRpPO3czqh
— Stéphanie Roy (@Steph_Roy_) January 26, 2019
The bearded Rodrigues, who has become a well-known figure in the “yellow vest” movement with 50,000 followers on Facebook, was live-streaming the protest on the website when he was hit.
De Veulle said Rodrigues was struck with a “flashball”, referring to the 40-mm (1.6-inch) rubber projectiles used by French riot police.
The devices — which are not used in most European countries — have become deeply controversial in France since the protests began in November, blamed for dozens of serious injuries. –AFP via Yahoo!
Speaking from his hospital bed, Rodrigues told LCI television that he was also hit with a stingball grenade.
“Everything happened very quickly. They threw a grenade at me and I took a (rubber) bullet. I was attacked twice — a grenade to the foot, and the bullet.”
In a video of the incident, Rodrigues can be heard warning protesters to leave the Bastille due to far-left “black bloc” agitators who had arrived to attack the police.
Jerome Rodriguez was filming when the police shot him directly in the face, while he was doing nothing and nothing had happened, Place the Bastille this afternoon. #Paris #Macron #Giletsjaunes #Yellowvests #Acte11 #ActeXI #Francepic.twitter.com/kh8IJChpQO
— nonouzi (@Gerrrty) January 27, 2019
via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2Sb6C1E Tyler Durden