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LBPD Says Officer Who Fired Foam Round That Hit KPCC/LAist Reporter Was Within Policy
Minutes after he was struck in the neck while covering a protest in Long Beach, our higher education reporter Adolfo Guzman-Lopez reported his own injury on social media. (Adolfo Guzman-Lopez / LAist)
Two Long Beach Police Department officers who fired 40mm foam-round launchers at a May protest — with one round striking KPCC/LAist correspondent Adolfo Guzman-Lopez in the neck, sending him to the ER — acted within department policy, according to LBPD documents released this week.
Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna previously said he believed the foam round ricocheted off another person or object before striking Guzman-Lopez. The incident took place near the intersection of 3rd Street and Pine Avenue in downtown Long Beach on the afternoon of May 31.
The names of the officers who fired, Amanda Aknin and Alvin Do, had not been released before this week. Aknin was involved in a controversial incident in 2018, when she used her Taser twice on a man who alleged he was unconscious at the time.
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