LAPD's use of batons, other weapons appears to violate rules, significantly injuring protesters
Source: Los Angeles Times
A Times review of dozens of instances of police force during protests over the killing in police custody of George Floyd found that demonstrators suffered a range of injuries at the hands of the LAPD, from minor bruising from baton strikes and falls as police skirmish lines advanced, to serious injuries to their genitals and heads from foam and sponge bullets and beanbags being launched into crowds, sometimes from close range. To date, there has been no formal assessment of how many protesters were hurt.
Many of the protesters’ wounds are from incidents in which police appeared to have violated their own policies for how weapons like batons and “less lethal” munitions may be used, after they had declared large gatherings unlawful and subject to dispersal, the review found. Others, including some of the most serious injuries to men’s genitals, appeared to be the result of sanctioned uses — such as officers aiming projectiles directly at a man’s belt line.
Since the Rodney King beating nearly three decades ago, the LAPD has increasingly placed limits on how police use force, from wielding batons and flashlights to firing weapons and using certain choke holds.
Weapons such as beanbags and foam projectiles were ushered in to reduce police shootings. But there are now calls from Black Lives Matter activists and others to restrict their use after the police response to protests, and additional questions about the use of batons.
Read more: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-11/lapd-violated-protocols-for-batons-and-less-lethal-bullets-injuring-many-protesters
Full title that didn't fit: LAPD’s use of batons, other weapons appears to violate rules, significantly injuring protesters, Times review finds
