Rubber bullets are still bullets.

Rubber bullets can be lethal and often cause permanent damage (blindness specifically, since cops so often aim directly at the face).

They aren’t rubber and the police never refer to them as such internally — only when talking to the public. Law enforcement usually calls them 40mm rounds (baton rounds in the UK) amongst themselves, and they are not cute little rubber balls. They’re metal bullets wrapped in a thin coat of rubber.

They were originally meant to be fired at the ground and then bounce around to hit the legs and disperse crowds of people. However, over 60% of injuries are above the waist, because the police enjoy shooting you in the face, but they can’t with a regular gun.

A facial injury from a rubber bullet is almost always permanent, so protect yourself as you would from a standard bullet.