Journalist dying after police shoot her with ‘non-lethal’ bullets

A freelance photojournalist who lost her eye in 2020 when police shot her with a foam bullet is now receiving end-of-life care for that injury, a professional journalism organization said this week.

Linda Tirado, 42, “is at the end of her life and receiving palliative care,” the National Press Club said in a press release, as the blow to her face also caused traumatic brain injury and related dementia. Police hit her with the supposedly “non-lethal” bullet as she covered anti-racism protests in Minneapolis in 2020 following the police killing of George Floyd.

“Tirado took all necessary precautions and attempted to hold the line where police directed her. She wore goggles and a mask against the tear gas that was in the air,” said Emily Wilkins, president of the National Press Club. “During the chaotic action, officers pointed a gun and fired ‘non-lethal’ foam bullets at journalists, including Tirado. The bullets struck several journalists. Tirado was hit in the eye despite her goggles. She lost her eye.”

The condition of the mother of two has deteriorated over the past four years and is expected to lead to her death soon, the organization said.

Minneapolis police did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tirado’s condition.

When the shooting gained worldwide media attention in 2020, the photojournalist called on people outraged on her behalf to direct their anger at the systemic racism she was reporting on when police shot her.

“I will not regain my vision in my left eye. I will need more surgeries. But I am not crying over my loss of vision; it feels more like my body is reacting to what is happening to my country,” she wrote for The New Republic.

“I’ve lost half of my vision, but I don’t lack clarity: There can be no peace without justice, and no justice without loud, devastating, righteous anger,” she continued. “I’m always asked why people arson and loot, and I wonder what someone would do if they were told their whole life that they were less than them and not equal, and then one day they woke up in a police state.”

Tirado also contributed to HuffPost in 2013 and 2014. An article titled “Here’s Why Poor People’s Bad Choices Make Perfect Sense” went viral, and the discussion about poverty and pregnancy it sparked remains relevant today as Republican lawmakers restrict access to reproductive care and target women’s choice. In a follow-up article, she called herself “the woman who accidentally explained to the nation what poverty is.”

The National Press Club honored Tirado with its John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award in 2020 following her shooting.

A $600,000 settlement she received from the Minneapolis Police Department has been largely consumed by her ongoing medical bills, according to the National Press Club. In addition, her inability to work or earn money after the shooting has put enormous financial pressure on her family.