Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale Protester Hit by Police Rubber Bullet Invited to Brief House Subcommittee

LaToya Ratlieff was participating a May 31 protest in Fort Lauderdale following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis when she was hit in the head by what police call a "foam baton"

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A Florida protester whose bruised, bloody face made national news after she was shot with a rubber bullet by Fort Lauderdale Police has been invited to brief the House Subcommittee on Civil Rights & Civil Liberties.

LaToya Ratlieff was participating a May 31 protest in Fort Lauderdale following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis when she was hit in the head by what police call a "foam baton."

Video from the scene showed the 34-year-old Ratlieff across the street from police, before a crack sounded and Ratlieff screamed and fell to the ground. Seconds later people rushed towards her, put her in a car and rushed her to the hospital.

The chairman of the House Subcommittee, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, has invited Ratlieff to be a witness at Monday's briefing on violence against protesters.

"I am grateful to the committee for offering me the opportunity to share my story and be a part of the conversation about needed reforms," Ratlieff said in a statement. "History has shown us that those who are willing to fight for civil rights and justice are regarded as icons of justice while those who resist needed change to ensure equality are remembered as villains. We need our elected leaders to use this moment in history to enact reforms which make our systems of justice truly equal and to hold those to whom we grant power accountable when they abuse it."

The police department has not released the name of the officer who shot Ratlieff, but said an internal affairs investigation was underway.

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