For decades, police have championed less-lethal munitions as life-saving alternatives to deadly force. Their history, however, tells a different story — one of imprecise science, unmeasured usage, untrained police forces, death and disfigurement.
With revelatory reporting by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie, stunning original and historical photography, and a captivating multimedia website, this six-part, longform feature tells the full, brutal story of kinetic impact projectiles and their usage, from rubber bullets’ invention in 1970s Northern Ireland all the way through the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.
U.S. law enforcement has used kinetic impact projectiles for more than 50 years
, promoting them as life-saving alternatives to deadly force. But the munitions also carry a legacy of traumatic brain injuries, blindings, PTSD, and even deaths
. Now after a recent, staggering surge
in the use of less-lethal weapons, victims are making a powerful case
against them. READ MORE