{
  "id": 103,
  "slug": "2020-minneapolis-police-blind-photojournalist-linda-tirado",
  "title": "Minneapolis police projectile permanently blinds photojournalist Linda Tirado",
  "occurred_on": "2020-05-29",
  "occurred_on_precision": "day",
  "ended_on": null,
  "jurisdiction": "US-MN",
  "country": "US",
  "continent": "north-america",
  "level": "municipal",
  "type": null,
  "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence",
  "leader_slug": "jacob-frey",
  "issue_of_the_day": "Tirado was documenting the police response to protests over George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis when she was struck; a federal judge later found her case was one of numerous similar reports of journalists being hit by less-lethal munitions during the same unrest.",
  "outcome": "sustained",
  "outcome_on": "2022-05-26",
  "outcome_note": "The city paid $600,000 in a 2022 settlement while continuing to deny that an identified officer fired the projectile.",
  "granularity": "granular",
  "era": "2020s",
  "summary": "Freelance photojournalist Linda Tirado was struck in the face by a less-lethal round fired by Minneapolis police while covering protests over George Floyd's killing, permanently blinding her in one eye; the city settled her lawsuit for $600,000 in 2022 while continuing to deny an officer had fired the shot.{c:395}{c:396}{c:397}",
  "what_happened": "On May 29, 2020, freelance photojournalist Linda Tirado was covering protests in Minneapolis over George Floyd's killing when she was struck by a tracking round and foam bullets fired by police; one projectile shattered her protective goggles and permanently blinded her in her left eye. Tirado sued the city, police officials and others on June 10, 2020. The Minneapolis Police Department did not respond to requests for comment on the incident. A federal judge, ruling on Tirado's case, found the allegations plausibly suggested a broader pattern, contrary to the First Amendment, of police intentionally using less-lethal munitions against identified journalists, since numerous other reporters described similar experiences during the same unrest. The city reached a $600,000 settlement with Tirado in May 2022, while continuing to deny wrongdoing and never acknowledging that an officer had fired the projectile that blinded her.{c:395}{c:396}{c:397}",
  "stated_justification": "The city did not offer a public justification for the specific shot that struck Tirado and denied that any identified officer had fired it.{c:395}{c:396}{c:397}",
  "effect_on_reporting": "Tirado said the injury effectively ended a part of her career as a print photojournalist, though she continued working with adapted equipment; the case became a widely cited example of the physical risk journalists faced covering the 2020 protests.{c:395}",
  "unknowns": "The identity of the officer who fired the projectile that struck Tirado was never confirmed by the city.",
  "status": "in_effect",
  "status_updated_on": "2026-09-22",
  "external_ids": {},
  "illustration_key": null,
  "pub_state": "published",
  "published_at": "2026-09-22T23:15:28Z",
  "reviewed_on": "2026-09-22",
  "next_review_on": "2026-12-22",
  "revision": 5,
  "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:15:24Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-09-23T00:10:21Z",
  "stage": "punish",
  "ladder_note": null,
  "country_name": "United States",
  "tactics": [
    "detention_and_violence"
  ],
  "leader": {
    "slug": "jacob-frey",
    "name": "Jacob Frey",
    "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/jacob-frey"
  },
  "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-minneapolis-police-blind-photojournalist-linda-tirado",
  "page_meta": {
    "published": "2026-09-22T23:15:28Z",
    "reviewed": "2026-09-22",
    "sources": 2,
    "status": "in_effect",
    "statusAsOf": "2026-09-22",
    "unknowns": "The identity of the officer who fired the projectile that struck Tirado was never confirmed by the city."
  },
  "actors": [
    {
      "slug": "jacob-frey",
      "name": "Jacob Frey",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "other",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/jacob-frey"
    },
    {
      "slug": "minneapolis-police-department",
      "name": "Minneapolis Police Department",
      "kind": "body",
      "role": "enforced",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/minneapolis-police-department"
    }
  ],
  "outlets": [],
  "journalists": [
    {
      "slug": "linda-tirado",
      "name": "Linda Tirado",
      "outlet": null,
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/linda-tirado"
    }
  ],
  "cases": [],
  "related": [],
  "events": [],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": 395,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 103,
      "field": "effect_on_reporting",
      "value": "Injury ends part of her career",
      "statement": "Tirado said the injury effectively ended that part of her career as a photojournalist.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 284,
      "evidence_quote": "That part of my career was effectively ended May 29, 2020",
      "evidence_date": "2022-05-26",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "v2-research-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:15:25Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 284,
        "url": "https://www.minnesotareformer.com/2022/05/26/minneapolis-settles-lawsuit-with-linda-tirado-journalist-blinded-in-one-eye-during-may-2020-unrest/",
        "final_url": "https://minnesotareformer.com/2022/05/26/minneapolis-settles-lawsuit-with-linda-tirado-journalist-blinded-in-one-eye-during-may-2020-unrest/",
        "title": "Minneapolis settles lawsuit with Linda Tirado, journalist blinded in one eye during May 2020 unrest",
        "publisher": "Minnesota Reformer",
        "published_on": "2022-05-26",
        "link_state": "redirected",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T23:23:23Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
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      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/395"
    },
    {
      "id": 396,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 103,
      "field": "status",
      "value": "Court finds a plausible pattern of targeting journalists",
      "statement": "A federal judge found the pattern of similar incidents involving other journalists plausibly suggested officers had an improper practice of firing on identified press.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 284,
      "evidence_quote": "the allegations plausibly suggest an unconstitutional custom carried out by (Minneapolis Police) officers of targeting journalists for unlawful reprisals.",
      "evidence_date": "2022-05-26",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
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      "source": {
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        "final_url": "https://minnesotareformer.com/2022/05/26/minneapolis-settles-lawsuit-with-linda-tirado-journalist-blinded-in-one-eye-during-may-2020-unrest/",
        "title": "Minneapolis settles lawsuit with Linda Tirado, journalist blinded in one eye during May 2020 unrest",
        "publisher": "Minnesota Reformer",
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      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/396"
    },
    {
      "id": 397,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 103,
      "field": "status",
      "value": "Settlement reached without admission of wrongdoing",
      "statement": "Tirado said pursuing the case had been worthwhile despite the city's denial of wrongdoing.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 283,
      "evidence_quote": "I did the right thing. Any time you as a member of the press are covering people who are hurting, it is worth it.",
      "evidence_date": "2020-05-29",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
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      "batch_label": "v2-research-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:15:26Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 283,
        "url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-permanently-blinded-others-assaulted-during-minneapolis-protests/",
        "final_url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-permanently-blinded-others-assaulted-during-minneapolis-protests/",
        "title": "Freelance photojournalist permanently blinded, others assaulted during Minneapolis protests",
        "publisher": "U.S. Press Freedom Tracker",
        "published_on": "2020-05-29",
        "link_state": "live",
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        "wayback_url": null,
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      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/397"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": 283,
      "url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-permanently-blinded-others-assaulted-during-minneapolis-protests/",
      "final_url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/freelance-photojournalist-permanently-blinded-others-assaulted-during-minneapolis-protests/",
      "title": "Freelance photojournalist permanently blinded, others assaulted during Minneapolis protests",
      "publisher": "U.S. Press Freedom Tracker",
      "published_on": "2020-05-29",
      "link_state": "live",
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    {
      "id": 284,
      "url": "https://www.minnesotareformer.com/2022/05/26/minneapolis-settles-lawsuit-with-linda-tirado-journalist-blinded-in-one-eye-during-may-2020-unrest/",
      "final_url": "https://minnesotareformer.com/2022/05/26/minneapolis-settles-lawsuit-with-linda-tirado-journalist-blinded-in-one-eye-during-may-2020-unrest/",
      "title": "Minneapolis settles lawsuit with Linda Tirado, journalist blinded in one eye during May 2020 unrest",
      "publisher": "Minnesota Reformer",
      "published_on": "2022-05-26",
      "link_state": "redirected",
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  "revisions_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-minneapolis-police-blind-photojournalist-linda-tirado/revisions",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  },
  "cite_as": "Minneapolis police projectile permanently blinds photojournalist Linda Tirado. The War On News, thewaronnews.com. https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-minneapolis-police-blind-photojournalist-linda-tirado. Retrieved 2026-09-23."
}