“He has brain damage,” Justin Howell’s brother said. “Doctors anticipate that when he wakes up, he will have difficulty telling his left from his right.”
Justin Howell, a 20-year-old Black student, was shot in the head with a “less-lethal” round by police during a protest in Austin, Texas on Sunday.
Howell’s identity was revealed on Wednesday when his brother, Joshua Howell, wrote an op-ed piece for Texas A&M University’s student newspaper “The Battalion,” revealing he learned about the devastating news on Monday.
“I knew who this unidentified black man was at around 5:45 that morning, though I confess I sometimes have trouble thinking of him as a ‘man,'” Joshua wrote. “His name is Justin Howell. And he is my little brother.”
“He has a fractured skull. He has brain damage,” he continued. “Doctors anticipate that when he wakes up, he will have difficulty telling his left from his right.”
In a press briefing on Monday, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said Justin was among protesters filming with his phone when a man standing beside him threw a water bottle and a backpack towards police. According to Manley, officers fired “less-lethal munition” towards the man, but hit Justin in the head instead.
“And this victim then fell to the ground, and it appears as though he hit his head when he fell to the ground as well,” Manley added.
Joshua wrote in his op-ed, “These ‘less-lethal’ munitions are only ‘less-lethal’ by technicality. My brother’s condition shows what can happen when you fire them into a crowd.”
He also criticized police officers for firing more ammunition at a group of five protesters who were instructed by police to bring Justin to them for treatment.
Video captured officers in riot gear appearing to fire more than a dozen rounds at the protesters who were carrying Justin.
“They were given direction to bring him to the officers,” Manley said. “It’s reported that they were fired upon with less-lethal munition as they brought this victim towards the officers to get him medical help.”
The police chief said they are investigating that shooting as well.
Joshua argued “the police are entirely out of their depth.”
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“It takes a special kind of incompetence to fire at those who are doing as the police tell them,” he wrote. “It shows a complete inability to be aware of your surroundings and to manage the situation appropriately.”
Manley concluded his press briefing by saying, “We are praying for this young man and his family, and we’re hoping that his condition improves quickly.”
Joshua, however, pointed out that his brother, his family and the five protesters did not receive an apology.
“We aren’t interested in your prayers,” he wrote. “We are interested in you appropriately using the responsibilities with which the people of Austin have entrusted you. Prayer is not an excuse to abdicate responsibility.”
In a statement posted online late Wednesday, Texas A&M President, Denise M. Trauth, wrote, “What was already a heartbreaking situation has hit painfully close to home. We are thinking of Justin’s family, friends, and classmates during this time and hope for his full recovery and healing.”
She added, “We are in the middle of a national emergency centuries in the making, and people are crying out to be heard. The headlines, the videos, and the experiences of our community are overwhelming to watch, and now one of our own in the Texas State family has been gravely hurt. Black Lives Matter. It is not debatable at Texas State. Justin Howell’s life matters.”
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Protests have erupted across the country denouncing police brutality in the wake of the death of George Floyd, who died while being forcefully detained by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25.
Video captured Derek Chauvin with his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes during Floyd’s arrest for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd was unresponsive when paramedics arrived and was later pronounced dead.
Chauvin was arrested on Friday and faces 2nd-degree murder and 2nd-degree manslaughter charges.
The three other officers in the arrest — Thomas Lane, J.A. Keung and Tou Thao — were charged with aiding and abetting the homicide.
On Tuesday, the state of Minnesota filed a human rights complaint against the Minneapolis Police Department.
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