WASHINGTON — QUESTION:
Were about 150 officers injured during the first week of protests in DC?
ANSWER:
Yes.
SOURCES:
U.S. Attorney General William Barr- interview on Face the Nation on 6/7/2020
Dustin Sternbeck- Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson
U.S. Secret Service Statement
Khalia Jackson- National Guard Bureau spokesperson
National Park Service spokesperson
Ashley Savage- Arlington County Police Department spokesperson
Dave Oney- U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson
Stephanie Malin- U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson
PROCESS:
On social media you’ll see a lot of conflicting numbers popping up about the number of law enforcement officers injured during the D.C. protests.
Our Verify team saw numbers from 110 all the way up to 750 officers injured. Most tweets have the number around 150.
We're verifying: Were 150 officers injured during the protests in D.C.?
Our researchers traced that claim back to the source, to an interview with Attorney General William Barr that aired on June 7 on "Face the Nation."
He makes the claim while talking about the first weekend of protests in D.C., that Friday, Saturday and Sunday, leading up to that Monday where protesters were cleared of H Street.
"They were battling over the fences," Barr said. "They were trying to get entry. They were throwing bricks and inflammable liquid at the police. One fifth of the- there have been 750 officers hurt in the last week. One fifth of those have been in Washington, D.C. Most of those have been federal officers at Lafayette Park."
Later in the interview, Barr repeated the claim.
"All I heard was comments about how peaceful the protesters were," he said on June 7. "I didn't hear about the fact that there were 150 law enforcement officers injured, and many taken to the hospital with concussions. So, it wasn't a peaceful protest. We had to get control over Lafayette Park, and we had to do it as soon as we were able to do that."
So, that number comes straight from the head of the Department of Justice. About 750 officers were injured in total that first week, 150 of them in D.C.
To make sure that was the correct number, we fact-checked that statement.
The Verify team contacted 11 local and federal law enforcement agencies, called in to work the protests. Five of them confirmed, their officers were injured during that first week or so.
Spokespeople from both the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, confirmed that none of their personnel were injured amid protests in the Nation's capital.
Secret Service said more than 60 officers and agents were hurt between May 29-May 31.
The National Park Service said 65 U.S. Park Police officers were injured between May 29-June 1.
During that first week or so, May 29 to June 7, the Metropolitan Police Department confirmed 21 injuries. The National Bureau says eight guardsmen were injured, including two who were struck by lightning.
A spokesperson for Arlington County Police told us, "one Arlington officer suffered a concussion and several others suffered bruises and abrasions."
So, that’s at least 155 officers and agents so far, and that's just the agencies who responded to our questions.
So, we can Verify yes, at least 150 officers in D.C. were injured during that first week or so of demonstrations in the District.