A violent Friday night riot by Ferguson protesters in San Francisco, who attempted to block Black Friday shopping, resulted in five police officers being badly injured and damaged one officer’s face so badly that he could be permanently disfigured.
A protester reportedly threw a traffic cone at the officer’s face, causing him to suffer many deep cuts and lacerations, according to the local CBS News affiliate in San Francisco. Graphic images show the portion of his face from the bridge of his nose down to his chin covered in blood.
A tweet from users several users shows a video that was posted on Instagram of a violent incident at Union Square.
“@PrinceOj84: http://t.co/WhHu73qsql #UnionSquare #Ferguson #SF #Police” ????
— Money Mike (@bg04mike) November 29, 2014
San Francisco Police Department Chief Greg Suhr said the officers did everything they were supposed to do and noted that without the training they had received, things could have been exponentially worse in the protests, notes CBS.
The four other traffic officers suffered a range of other injuries, including stitches to the face resulting from a glass bottle being thrown through a closed police car window and smashing it; and an officer who was tripped by a suspect causing abrasions to his body, and rendering his finger swollen and immobile.
Seventy nine protesters were arrested. Of those 79, 70% were not from San Francisco and 16% were not even from California, CBS notes. Chief Suhr said that 23 were San Francisco residents and 56 were from other cities in California or out of state.
Photo: File
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