Citation

Olson KA, Haselden LE, Zaunbrecher RD, Weinfeld A, Brown LH, Bradley JA, Cardenas TCP, Trust MD, Coopwood B, Teixeira PG, Brown CVR, Aydelotte JD. New Engl. J. Med. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Massachusetts Medical Society)

DOI

10.1056/NEJMc2025923

PMID

32797750

Abstract

In the spring of 2020, after the death of George Floyd in police custody, protests against racial injustice and police brutality broke out across the country. In Austin, Texas, tensions culminated in 2 days of vigorous protest, during which police used beanbag munitions for crowd control, resulting in numerous clinically significant injuries. The literature regarding injuries from beanbag munitions is scarce, with previous reports describing predominantly minor blunt-injury patterns with limited penetrating thoracic, ocular, and facial trauma.

At the closest level 1 trauma center, located blocks from the protests in Austin, we treated 19 patients who sustained beanbag injuries over these 2 days. Patients were identified for this report by a retrospective chart review of all patients who presented to the emergency department during the protests. Chief presenting symptoms or discharge diagnoses suggesting traumatic injuries were reviewed, and any chart noting "beanbag" or "rubber bullet" was included, since local law enforcement publicly reported exclusively using beanbag rounds. (In 2 of the patients who had retained beanbags removed, "rubber bullet" was listed in the chart.) Descriptions of the injuries and clinical courses were compiled from provider documentation, imaging, and operative reports...

Language: en