LAPD protest response breaks California law, civil rights lawyers say

Members of the Los Angeles Police Department appear to have violated California law and a federal court order with their use of crowd control weapons during protests, civil rights attorneys told LAist.

Two state laws passed in response to law enforcement actions during the 2020 George Floyd protests restrict the use of chemical agents and kinetic energy projectiles — crowd control weapons that include tear gas and other less-lethal munitions such as rubber bullets and bean bag rounds — unless specific criteria are met. The laws also forbid police from interfering with journalists covering protests.

The laws state that crowd dispersal weapons can only be used when there is a clear threat to officers or bystanders, not solely to disperse crowds. Their use is supposed to follow clear warnings from law enforcement officers, from multiple locations and in multiple languages when possible.

A federal court order stemming from litigation after the 2020 protests imposes similar restrictions on LAPD.

LAPD officers have navigated an, at times, chaotic and dangerous environment since the L.A. protests broke out on June 6. Some uses of crowd dispersal tactics appeared to follow the law.

A statement released by LAPD on Tuesday says officers arrested protestors engaged in illegal and violent acts over the weekend, including for resisting arrest, assaulting officers with a deadly weapon and attempting to murder with a molotov cocktail. Officers used chemical agents and more than 600 rounds of less-lethal munitions “to manage the crowd and prevent further harm to people or property,” according to the statement.

In other instances, police used crowd dispersal tools on isolated individuals who did not appear to pose a threat and, in some cases, did not appear to be protesting at all.

LAist reporters witnessed LAPD officers firing less-lethal munitions into crowds and at protestors running away from police on Sunday outside the federal building in downtown Los Angeles. We did not hear clear warnings about the use of crowd dispersal weapons during the protests on Sunday, and could not locate evidence that adequate warning was provided during subsequent protests.

LAist reporters also heard an LAPD officer taunting protestors from a helicopter circling above protestors near City Hall, which experts said could escalate tensions and violate LAPD policy.

One such taunt was captured in a video shared on social media.

“Hey, that black SUV, I got the plate, I’m coming to your house at five in the morning,” an LAPD officer is heard saying over a helicopter loudspeaker. “We have you. Throw something else, I dare you. Throw something else, I dare you. Do it again. Do it again. Let’s go.”

A Los Angeles Police Department helicopter flies as demonstrators rally against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Gloria Molina Grand Park in Los Angeles, on June 9, 2025.

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Ronaldo Schemidt

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AFP via Getty Images

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Videos show violations of state law, civil rights attorneys say

Adrienna Wong, a senior staff attorney with ACLU SoCal, told LAist indiscriminate use of force to disrupt protests in recent days violates the law and First Amendment rights of demonstrators.

“We have seen evidence that kinetic projectiles and chemical agents have been used indiscriminately, have injured people that have been protesting peacefully, are journalists or are in a crowd of people, and that seems to violate the express purpose of these laws,” Wong said.

Carol Sobel, an attorney who has litigated several civil rights cases related to protests in Los Angeles, including the 2020 lawsuit that secured a federal court order restricting LAPD’s use of force to disperse protests, said videos on social media clearly show LAPD violating the law and court order over the past week.

“The past litigation resulted in numerous settlements addressing necessary changes in the policies and practices of the LAPD,” Sobel wrote in a letter sent to Mayor Karen Bass and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell on Wednesday. “Based on what I have seen in numerous videos in recent demonstrations against federal ICE and Homeland Security activities in the city, it is difficult to conclude other than (that) no lessons have been learned by the LAPD over these years.”

Sobel’s letter referenced a video recorded Tuesday showing an officer hitting an attorney in the groin with less-lethal projectiles.

The letter, written on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild and the Los Angeles Community Action Network, urges the mayor and chief to change LAPD’s approach to conform with court orders and the law. If the protests continue, and LAPD continues using indiscriminate force, Sobel told LAist she will be asking a federal court to step in.

McDonnell and a representative for Mayor Bass did not immediately respond to requests for an interview or comment.

LAist shared 18 potential violations of the protest law with LAPD’s public information office requesting comment.

The public information office has not responded to that request.

Detective Charles Schlund with the LAPD Professional Standards Bureau said in a phone call with LAist that many of the incidents were already being investigated by his department, and that they would investigate the others. Some examples involved actions of federal officers that were not under LAPD’s jurisdiction, Schlund said.

The professional standards bureau is “proactively” searching social media and other protest recordings to spot potential misconduct and open investigations by LAPD officers.

A spokesperson for the Office of Inspector General, which supports the LAPD's Board of Police Commissioners by fielding complaints from the community and monitoring the police agency's internal investigations for thoroughness and impartiality, said in an emailed statement that the office has received complaints stemming from this week’s protests.

“As the oversight agency for the LAPD, the OIG will diligently monitor these complaints as they proceed through the standard investigative process,” the statement said.

What the law says

California law, established by Assembly Bill 48 in 2021, places several restrictions on the use of “kinetic energy projectiles and chemical agents,” which include tear gas and less-lethal munitions, both of which were used by law enforcement in this week's protests.

According to the law:

• Chemical agents and less-lethal munitions should only be used by law enforcement to defend against physical threats to officers or other bystanders, or to bring an “objectively dangerous and unlawful situation safely and effectively under control.”
• The weapons should only be used after de-escalation techniques or alternatives to force have failed and officers have made repeated warnings to the crowd about impending use of force. The announcements should be made from multiple locations and delivered in multiple languages when appropriate.
• Crowd dispersal weapons should not be aimed indiscriminately into a crowd. Law enforcement should minimize the impact of these weapons on bystanders including journalists or other unintended targets.
• Projectiles “shall not be aimed at the head, neck, or any other vital organs.”

A federal court order issued by U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall in 2021 placed similar restrictions on the use of force at protests.

Social media and TV newscasts recorded during the ongoing protests against ICE enforcement actions in Los Angeles show what appear to be indiscriminate use of tear gas and less-lethal munitions such as condensed foam rounds against large crowds and peaceful protestors by LAPD officers.

California law, established by Senate Bill 98 in 2021, states that police officers “shall not intentionally assault, interfere with, or obstruct” representatives of the media who are covering protests.

Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi was hit by a less-lethal round during a live broadcast on Sunday. In another incident, LAPD officers detained a news reporter with CNN on June 9, according to a video shared on social media.

Downtown L.A. resident Erik Valdez attended Sunday’s protests with his camera. He said he was hoping to document a historic moment in his city.

While there, Valdez said he was shot in the leg with less-lethal projectiles.

“I went out to take some pictures, to shoot some photos, but not to get shot,” Valdez told LAist on Wednesday. “And that's what happened. I got shot by police for holding a camera, just trying to document the truth.”

Valdez said the projectiles left welts. “Those things sting on impact,” Valdez said. “You're bleeding and you're bruised and you're swollen for a couple days.”

Valdez said he did not hear LAPD warn the crowd that less-lethal projectiles would be used.

“There definitely wasn’t any notice that, if we were protesting, weapons would be used,” Valdez said. “There was no warning up front.”

Valdez said he hopes the LAPD officers who allegedly shot him would face repercussions.

“If they're supposed to be protecting the rule of law, then they also need to be held accountable,” Valdez said.

LAPD has not yet responded to questions from LAist about Valdez’s allegations.

Legislation stemmed from 2020 protests

Both Assembly Bill 48 and a related piece of legislation, Senate Bill 98, were introduced in response to the actions of police officers during the 2020 protests that followed the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of law enforcement, according to analysis by bill sponsors.

“Numerous protesters, bystanders, and journalists have been maimed and permanently injured by ‘less lethal’ weapons such as rubber bullets and beanbag rounds at the hands of law enforcement during protests this past year,” bill sponsor Lorena Gonzalez, a former Assemblymember representing parts of San Diego County, wrote in an analysis accompanying Assembly Bill 48. “No one who is simply exercising their right to protest should be scared to face serious injury or death because police officers are indiscriminately firing rubber bullets or harmful chemical agents.”

Former California State Assemblymember Cristina Garcia was an Assembly Bill 48 cosponsor.

Based on what she’s seen on social media — videos that appear to show officers targeting journalists or injuring peaceful protestors — Garcia said she believes LAPD has broken the law she helped create.

“It raises serious legal and moral concerns,” Garcia said in an emailed response to questions from LAist. “These incidents must be thoroughly investigated, and if it’s found that the law was broken, there should be full accountability.”

If you believe you witnessed a potential violation of these laws, reach out to us at tips@scpr.org. For information on how to reach out confidentially, check out our tips page.

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Jordan Rynning contributed to this report.