Minister Says Police Split Open Her Head In Protest

A local minister got herself injured, participating with seminary students in a Berkeley protest.

Cindy Pincus, 29, told HuffPost she was among a group of ministers and seminary students near the front of the protest as police in riot gear began advancing to disperse the crowd of hundreds. Pincus said she was helping a woman who'd fallen when, from the corner of her eye, she saw an officer swing a nightstick. She said the blow sent her staggering.

"I had a brief blackout in my vision. I saw stars," Pincus said. "I would say it’s an indiscriminate and disproportionate reaction to peaceful protests. It was completely way out of line."

The demonstrators opposed a Staten Island grand jury's decision on Dec. 3 not to indict NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo for killing Eric Garner, an unarmed black man

The protests are scheduled to go into their third day while 18 people have been arrested so far.