Federal Officers in Portland May Have Permanent Eye Damage After Protesters Shine Lasers in Their Faces

Riot in Portland Twitter:@MrAndyNgo
Twitter/@MrAndyNgo
Hannah Knudsen

At least three federal officers responding to the chaos in Portland may have permanent eye damage after demonstrators shined lasers in their faces, Federal Protective Service (FPS) Deputy Director of Operations Richard Cline said this week.

Cline detailed how demonstrators have attacked officers trying to quell the unrest, throwing various projectiles and shining lasers into their eyes as they set fires and vandalize public and private property across the city.

“You’ve seen the green lasers that are being used out there, we have three officers who currently have eye injuries and they may not recover sight in those eyes from those laser attacks,” he said during a press conference this week:

Cline said they have since purchased special glasses to shield the officers’ eyes from those attacks and prevent those eye injuries.

Cline also said that they were moving to convert their officers’ names to their badge number because “about 38” of their officers have been doxxed — a reality that coincides with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) move to introduce legislation requiring federal law enforcement officers to identify their agency, last name, and identification number while on duty.

Federal officers faced violent protesters again on Thursday night as a large group of protesters breached the fence surrounding the federal courthouse, prompting a response from federal law enforcement. According to the Portland Police Bureau, demonstrators hurled “large projectiles” at officers and flashed them with lasers:

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