A Los Angeles doctor says he has received hundreds of requests after offering on social media to treat injuries suffered by protesters from law enforcement during the protests over the death of George Floyd for free.
Amir Moarefi, a Long Beach-area ophthalmologist, posted on Instagram that he would provide “free health care and eye care, especially to those without any insurance” for any Californians injured by police during recent protests across the state.
Moarefi told LAist.com that he received “hundreds” of requests on his personal cellphone once word got out.
“I started to get the messages coming in and first it started off with a lot of virtual consults, a lot of messages, pictures, FaceTime chats,” he said.
“I’ve seen broken ankles, broken hands, broken fingers, welts all over the body. I’ve seen people who have sustained really bad tear gas injuries, where their entire face broke out into these nasty hives, including their eyes. Pepper spray, I’ve seen really bad cases. You could just see visible swelling of their eyeball,” Moarefi added.
The ophthalmologist, a Los Angeles native, told LAist.com that his offer was his personal means of supporting the protests over the death of Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in Minneapolis police custody. Bystander video of Floyd’s arrest showed that white officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes until he was unresponsive.
“The feeling of injustice is what this is all about. And this is just more little bits of injustice that people are feeling if they’re peacefully protesting, and they’re getting hurt,” he said.
Protests have risen up in California and states nationwide over Floyd’s death, resulting in calls from activists and demonstrators for police resources to be moved to other initiatives to support communities of color.