Sergio Espejo did not expect radicalism to come to Los Angeles. He plans to visit a friend because he has done it many times in the past. Except this summer, the city was caught in protests and triggered a series of ice raids in early June.
This time, he said, is to “support my immigration.”
Espejo is one of about 200,000 people who participated in the “No Kings” protests in downtown Los Angeles on June 14. He said the protesters were largely peaceful. He said people were dancing, playing music, waving the Mexican and American flags and “exercising their First Amendment as Americans.”
At 4 p.m., Espejo walked to Los Angeles City Hall and saw LAPD and La Sheriff’s department officials on the steps of the building. By 5 p.m., the sheriff’s department began firing tear gas, foam projectiles and pepper spray in an attempt to disperse the crowd.
The projectile then hits Espejo and explodes.
“I saw a portion of my fingers flying to the side of the street,” Espejo said.
The Flash Bang device that changed Espejo’s life was a “not too lethal” weapon. The category includes tear gas and pepper balls, first used by law enforcement after World War I, and strikes and political actions were carried out in the 1920s and 1930s. The rubber bullet was created by British troops to calm protesters in Northern Ireland during the troubles. Often, these weapons are used to execute order without the use of real-time ammunition.
However, these tools have been the source of controversy since their inception, with lawyers, activists and scholars claiming they are used too frequently and have a devastating impact on the target.
He said he ran westward on temple street, bleeding his hands and shouted for help after Espejo was hit. Onlookers called on a doctor who was taken to General Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he underwent emergency surgery. His left index finger was amputated.
Espejo is a data engineer and his left hand is no longer of type. What’s worse, he said, is that he is no longer able to draw.
“My passion is painting, and that’s how I express myself, and I can never do it again,” Espejo said.
In a civil rights claim against the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and the City of Los Angeles, Espejo said the sheriff’s deputies “used a flash blast, threw it in the plaintiff’s face, and other less deadly ammunition,” which caused multiple injuries to the plaintiff. ”
“What happened to Mr. Espejo is not an isolated misconduct. This reflects a broader and disturbing pattern of repeated protests against peaceful protests by the Sheriff’s Department,” the claim submitted to the City of Los Angeles on June 19.
The claim also generally uses deadly weapons.
“These weapons are only used at a high level of use by trained personnel in situations involving immediate threats, but are not selected, usually without emergency, warning or legal reasons.”
According to a written statement, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department declined to discuss the case, but said all use mandatory incidents were reviewed and evaluated by department supervisors.
“The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) requires all deputies to graduate from the Basic Academy after graduation and continue to conduct extensive training of lethal force throughout the service,” the department wrote.
The same statement lists officials who are taught to use less deadly weapons, from eight-hour patrol schools to mandatory further studies.
“We do not abuse lethal tools; we only use them when the downgrade measures are exhausted, and when representatives, law enforcement officers or representatives of innocent citizens, other citizens are attacked and attacked, such as bricks, stones, stonemasons, mortars and Molotov cocktail parties.”
According to the Department’s use policy, only such materials are used in the case of “objective and reasonable”. The same rules state that officers who use excessive force will face discipline or prosecution.
But activists and lawyers say officials in LAPD and LASD do not abide by their own rules.
Law enforcement has fewer deadly weapons against protesters during the June 14 “No Kings Day” demonstration in downtown Los Angeles.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Southern California is an open form for people injured by law enforcement officers or federal agents during anti-ICE protests. In a two weeks after the initial protest, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said 250 people had contacted people who had been hurt or witnessed someone being hurt, the group said in a statement.
The organization did not share details of the response.
LAPD told the Times in a written statement that since June 1, 59 complaints have been filed with the Los Angeles Police Department.
“We call on the City of Los Angeles, we call on the mayor, we call on the police chief: Let your officers be under control and let them comply with the law,” civil rights attorney James Desimone said in a June 25 press conference.
Desimone represents three clients: Miguel Mendoza, Atlachinolli Tezcacoatl and Daisy Bravo. The trio participated in an anti-ICE protest in downtown Los Angeles on June 8, all injured by a fatal projectile, according to claims for damages filed against the city.
Mendoza and Bravo spoke with reporters on June 25. Tezcacoatl remained silent, Desimone spoke to him. Tezcacoatl’s jaw was hit by the projectile and connected.
Mendoza visited a friend in Koreatown, while the anti-ice protests swept a content creator, and he began to notice other influential people posted information about the City Hall protests on June 8. Mendoza is the first generation son of Mexican immigrants, and Mendoza believes in participating in what he has to do.
“I was born here … in California, in the Gulf. I have to defend my beliefs,” Mendoza said in an interview.
Mendoza was the thousands who entered the city hall that day. Mendoza is browsing photos of the activity he took on his phone at about 6 p.m., after police had already started using batons and deadly projectiles to postpone the crowd.
Once, Mendoza’s shock suddenly shocked and his ears began to ring.
He said: “Then, I lowered my head and the blood just poured out of my face and my hands were covered like they were all red.”
Mendoza was hit by a deadly projectile. According to Mendoza, LAPD “deliberately and/or Reck suffered from the physical injury and pain of Mr. Mendoza by shooting these projectiles at him, or shooting in his direction.”
“They broke my nose on both sides, there were acute cracks in my cheeks, my che bones, rubber bullets almost almost completely passed,” Mendoza said. “I think they did seven stitches in total.”
“LAPD is absolutely in violation of its own policies, as well as the U.S. Constitution and state laws,” Desimone said in an interview.
LAPD declined to comment on Mendoza’s claims.
The bill was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021, and the Section 48 prohibits the use of fewer deadly weapons, which law says can only be used by law enforcement to defend against physical threats or put dangerous situations under control. Under Article 2 of the Act, such weapons cannot be shot into a crowd without distinction, or targeted to the head, neck or any other vital organ.
The legislation follows the George Floyd protests, in which thousands of Los Angeles demanded racial justice and ended police brutality. Police operations related to these protests accounted for $11.9 million in settlements and jury prizes, according to an analysis by the Los Angeles Times.
Law enforcement uses less lethal weapons and general protest strategies were the root of the review and later the cause of large-scale training for LAPD officials.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, more than 500 people were arrested for protest-related activities in Los Angeles from June 7 to June 15. Fees range from attacks to blockages and illegal parliamentary charges. Others were accused of using Molotov’s cocktails against sheriff’s representatives and throwing bricks at federal law enforcement.
Rev. Stephen “Cue” Jn-Marie was organized during the Floyd protests and witnessed the policy changes being implemented by LA law enforcement. But during the anti-ice protests, law enforcement began to “return to their old ways”, he said.
“I saw a brother showing me the scar he received from the projectile, which was a rubber bullet. The first thing they did was they started cheering people on,” Jn-Marie said.
He said law enforcement responses to the protests eroded public trust and the Trump administration’s use of the National Guard has stirred up many people in the area.
“How do you protect us when you hold a gun and they point at us?” he asked.
Mendoza has only recently started eating solid food again, although he still finds it painful. Mendoza said that even if his physical condition improves, he hopes the mental impact of the event will be long-term.
“I’m already studying treatment, too,” he said. “When I was in the crowd, it’s a little different now. When I see officers, it’s a little different. Even for security guards, it’s a little different.”
