Injured protesters are calling for change at protests, saying medical response times and access need to be improved.
Protester Eryn Roberts recorded a Facebook Live video as she called for an end to police brutality in downtown San Diego. She knew there was a possibility of her getting injured, but she says she didn't know it would be so hard to get help.
“I don’t know if it was glass. I don’t know what hit me, it may have been a rubber bullet,” says Roberts.
When someone called 911 for her damaged tendon, she says, “They said they couldn’t get through unless the cops let them through and they wouldn’t let them through,” says Roberts.
She says since the ambulance couldn’t get to her, it took her 2 hours to get to the hospital.
Mikael Fakhoury is the Vice President of "Black Life Medics," a group of 20 volunteer responders that have been giving aid to protesters.
One of them helped Roberts, but Fakhoury says ambulances need to get to protesters faster.
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“Due to police restrictions they sometimes get barricaded,” Fakhoury says.
He says injuries can range from severe, like Roberts’ injuries, to heat exhaustion. Roberts says protestors need to be treated with dignity.
“They’re proving our point that to them, black lives don’t matter,” says Roberts.
The San Diego Fire Department said, “We always send the appropriate and closest resources, and we have not been prevented from providing emergency services.”
NBC 7 asked the county if it’s coordinating a response plan at protests but have not yet received a response. NBC 7 is also waiting to hear back from the San Diego Police Department.
