Brake, FWPD disagree on incident that resulted in loss of eye

Brake, FWPD disagree on incident that resulted in loss of eye

Good evening ... i'm hunter petroviak.thanks for joining us.a fort wayne man loses his eye during saturdays downtown protest.but 21-year-old balin brake and fort wayne police disagree on what led to the injury.

Tonight brake is speaking for the first time.

Fox 55's chris mullooly is live in downtown fort wayne.

Chris...what's the difference between police and brake's story?hunter brake says when he was here saturday police started firing tear gas at peaceful protestors.he ran when he heard the shots... one even hitting his foot.he says when he looked back to see what was going on... he was hit in the face.the photo of his face badly bleeding and after surgery making international news.fort wayne police disagree with brake... saying he was bending down to pick up the cannister... to throw back at them.

?nats?

Saturday near the allen county courthouse looking nearly identical to friday....police on the street.... tossing tear gas at protestors?nats?it didn't start that way.

Balin brake ... a 21-year-old college student and part time employee at fox 55 news ... one of many enjoying the atmosphere ..

Standing up for people of color.

There wasn't any violence going on the whole time i was there everyone was friendly and supportivebut then it took a bloody turn.

Brake says police gave little warning to protestors before launching tear gas into them...he says one cannister hit him on the foot.i turned around to watch was going on and that was when another cannister came flying at my facethe result... a bloody and ruptured eye.... brake saysi was discombobulate d but i was trying to make it up the street but thats when isiah came and picked me up and tried to carry meisiah gray ... running with brake on his back out of the area...we came over to him to move him to get out of the gas cause the gas was hittin ghim when he fellgray says he didn't know brake but scooped him up.

Everything happened fast he says.

More gas came i picked him up put up in a piggy back and we ran downfort wayne police disagree.in a statement released sunday night...police say brake was still in the area when the command was made to disperse.they say brake bent over to pick up a cannister to throw back... another cannister skipped on the ground... and hit him.

Brake and gray say the police are lying."i was just shocked cause it never happened ...the police are just trying to cover up the mistreatement and abuse of power theyve always used... which is what everyone down there is protesting"he was running... and even then they shot him in the face with a cannister we reached out to fort wayne police... but were not able to talk with anyone tonight.when i spoke with gray... he says some were calling him a hero... but he says he's not... he was just there and wanted to help out... and says if he were in that position..

Brake would have done the same thing he did.

Brake says he's expected to leave the hospital on tuesday.

Reporting live ... chris mullooly... fox 55