FERGUSON, Mo. — A former Ferguson resident who walked a mile to hand out water and snacks to protesters on Tuesday night and wound up being maced by the police told The Huffington Post Wednesday that the experience felt like "hell."
“All I know is mace got in my eyes,” said Jameila White. “I just know my face started burning, it got in my mouth, my eyes started burning, I couldn’t do nothing.”
White said she was one of several dozen individuals who formed a line in between protesters and police in riot gear Tuesday night. They stood along the stretch of W. Florissant Ave. that has been the site of protests over the death of Michael Brown, the unarmed black teenager killed by a police officer on Aug. 9. She said she has no idea why she was maced.
“It felt like you was in hell,” White said. “It felt like you was in hell on fire. It’s just like, you can’t see. It felt like somebody was burning my eyeballs out. My skin was burning, I didn’t know what to do.”
A number of people in the crowd, including journalists, assisted White after she was hit. She was later sent to the hospital.
Here's White before the sun went down on Tuesday:
Here she is in action, handing out water to marchers:
Here she is after being maced:
Watch her full interview above.