Penetrating Injuries from “Less Lethal” Beanbag Munitions

Abstract

In the spring of 2020, after the death of George Floyd in police custody, protests against racial injustice and police brutality broke out across the country. In Austin, Texas, tensions culminated in 2 days of vigorous protest, during which police used beanbag munitions for crowd control, resulting in numerous clinically significant injuries. The literature regarding injuries from beanbag munitions is scarce, with previous reports describing predominantly minor blunt-injury patterns with limited penetrating thoracic, ocular, and facial trauma.^1-4