Amnesty International creates a map of where police brutality occurred during police brutality protests

Protests against police brutality have been met with an ironic wave of police brutality this past month, with U.S. law enforcement misusing tear gas, pepper spray, and "less-lethal" weapons on peaceful protesters. Now, Amnesty International has used social media to create a map of police violence across the U.S.

Released on Tuesday, the map documents 125 separate instances of police violence against protesters occurring between May 26 and June 5. With incidents recorded in 40 states as well as the District of Columbia, Amnesty International claims it is the most comprehensive human rights analysis of police violence against protesters to date.

"The wide-ranging analysis shows that the unlawful use of force involved beatings, misuse of tear gas and pepper spray, and the inappropriate firing of less-lethal projectiles," said Amnesty International in a statement to Mashable.

Amnesty International created the police violence map by sourcing videos from various social media platforms, including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Their Crisis Evidence Lab and Digital Verification Corps verified and geolocated nearly 500 videos, which were then analysed by experts in weapons, police tactics, and both local and international law concerning use of force.

These videos are included on the map, illustrating each incidence of police violence. However, Amnesty International notes on its website that information which could identify protesters has been redacted.

"Where necessary, videos were edited to protect the identity of the persons involved and a review was conducted to ensure that videos are not listed that could incriminate protesters, that could expose the identity of minors, or that could lead to possible re-traumatisation," said Amnesty International.

Keeping protesters anonymous is important to shield them from unprovoked, potentially violent retaliation by law enforcement. The police have a history of using facial recognition and other technology to track people down, as does ICE.

The map also allows users to filter incidents by weapon used and the authorities who used them, so you can see how many times municipal police used tear gas, for example. Spoiler: It's too many.

Widespread protests against police brutality and racism began after Minneapolis police killed 46-year-old father George Floyd on May 25. Police handcuffed Floyd and knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, despite his repeated cries that he couldn't breathe. Floyd was one of countless Black people who have died needlessly at the hands of law enforcement, prompting thousands to demand an end to police brutality.

Unfortunately, as Amnesty International's map illustrates, the police don't seem to be listening.