New Orleans police attack residents protesting public housing demolition

Protesters first attempted to open the iron gates blocking their access to the meeting, alleging that the meeting was disproportionately filled with supporters of the demolition. Police responded with Tasers and large cans of mace, resulting in four hospitalizations. Videos of the event show demonstrators first being sprayed and forcibly kept from entering, and later, flushing their eyes out with water.

According to the Associated Press, “One woman was sprayed by police and dragged from the gates; emergency workers took her away on a stretcher. Another woman said she was stunned by officers, and still had what appeared to be a Taser wire hanging from her shirt. “I was just standing, trying to get into my City Council meeting,” said the dazed woman, Kim Ellis, who was taken away in an ambulance.”