LOS ANGELES, CA – With recent severe injuries linked to the use of foam bullets by police in Los Angeles, there’s been a newly renewed interest in exploring the banning of these very projectiles by police.
Here’s the background on the clamoring for the ban and what has sparked these very calls.
At least three California residents are speaking out against the Los Angeles Police Department after they claim they were injured in the streets of L.A. by police deploying hard foam bullets.https://t.co/1GTxuvaLRB
— CBS Local (@cbslocal) October 21, 2020
In recent months, less-lethal crowd control measures have become a point of contention in numerous cities across the country.
On one hand there’s the balancing acts of both public and officer safety, and on the other hand there’s the argument that crowd control munitions wind up adversely affecting unintended targets.
Such is the case in Los Angeles, as several locals from Southland are among those admonishing the Los Angeles Police Department’s use of foam bullets during various George Floyd inspired protests/riots and the recent outdoor celebration that became disorderly relating to the Laker’s championship title.
Namely, these locals wound up becoming the victims of these foam bullets and have suffered some very significant injuries – with one man having lost his eye.
During the early morning hours of October 12th, 22-year-old basketball fan William Gonzalez was among those that happened to be present when what started as a celebration of the NBA Championships turned into numerous people engaging in riotous behavior.
Gonzalez’s attorney John Carpenter stated that during this celebration gone awry, Gonzalez wound up losing his eye due to a foam bullet being shot into a crowd where he was present:
“He was facing away from where the police officers were. He felt something graze his head and when he turned, a second projectile hit and took out his eye.”
According to a report detailing the graphic result, the projectile caused Gonzalez’s “eye socket to shatter and eyeball to explode.”
*Warning: The following photo below is graphic*
LAPD claim their crowd-control projectiles don’t “penetrate the skin” and aren’t fired at people’s heads.
Recent events prove the first claim false and the latter true only in policy, not in practice.
William Gonzalez’s eye exploded Sunday night.https://t.co/Avx2dyGvwl pic.twitter.com/Emo2H79eag
— Kevin Rector (@kevrector) October 15, 2020
LAPD officers were reportedly being subjected to the likes of bottles and rocks thrown at them from crowd members when the munitions were dispersed on October 12th.
However, while many were arrested during that celebration-turned-riot, it seems that Gonzalez was not among those arrested.
In an extremely unfortunate case from June of this year, a woman happened to be driving nearby a protest/riot that was happening in Los Angeles when a foam bullet came in through her open car window and struck her in the head.
The woman, identified as 26-year-old Yasmine Morales, wound up spending two days in the critical care unit and another seven days hospitalized after she suffered a fractured cheekbone and a brain bleed.
She was apparently driving to Target to get her son a birthday present and was struck while stopped at an intersection not far from a George Floyd inspired demonstration/riot.
Woman driving near protests says LAPD foam bullet struck her head, files $10-million claim https://t.co/RWYp2MzQRq
— KTLA 5 Morning News (@KTLAMorningNews) June 17, 2020
A third person, who remained unnamed, also claimed to have been inadvertently struck during one of the George Floyd inspired demonstrations in recent months as well.
With the aforementioned incidents having taken place, California state assembly member Wendy Carrillo is trying to introduce a bill that would ban the use of foam bullets by police officers across the entire state of California:
“The goal is to ban projectiles that are obviously causing a lot of harm in a lot of the protests that we see currently manifesting.”
Carrillo notes that with this endeavor, questions are going to arise as to how officers can maintain personal safety and order:
“I think that it’s important. One: How do we protect first amendment rights to be able to peacefully manifest and protest? Two: How to secure the safety of the officers many of them come from communities we love and are also family members and trying to do what is right and what is good to protect the public.”
When incidents like these arise, then discussions of banning police equipment akin to less-lethal munitions often follows closely thereafter.
But, with that also comes the logical question of whether it’s a good idea to remove all tools that aid in subduing alleged offenders that afford officers choices outside of either hands-on force or force by way of their firearm.
Perhaps a better conversation should revolve around increased policy and regulations regarding the use of less-lethal munitions, rather than completely removing the option altogether.
There’s been a lot of talk about banning a number of things when it relates to policing – and these bans aren’t related to just police-issued equipment.
In Baltimore, Maryland, the state’s attorney is effectively trying to ban no-knock warrants.
Here’s that report.
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BALTIMORE, MD – In a move that was referred to being “completely irresponsible” by the local police union, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office announced that they’ll no longer be granting “no-knock” warrants.
NEW: The Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office will no longer authorize no-knock warrants following the death of Breonna Taylor in Kentucky earlier this year, a move the city’s police union called “completely irresponsible.” https://t.co/LgyC3wxeG6
— WJZ | CBS Baltimore (@wjz) October 14, 2020
The move serves as an obvious reaction to the death of Breonna Taylor, which did not even occur in the state of Maryland.
Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby wrote the following in a note that was shared with employees from the State’s Attorney’s Office:
“Recent events, such as the tragic killing of Breonna Taylor, have shown that the ends do not justify the means. Seventeen states do not allow this tactic, and our office will also no longer sign off on this dangerous measure.”
Among other policy changes that the State’s Attorney’s Office is bringing about is that bench warrants are going to be issued only under certain circumstances, particularly felony cases only:
“We are currently quashing warrants for offenses we are no longer prosecuting, dismissing pending cases for certain low-level offenses, and do not want people to be held unless absolutely necessary.”
Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police President Mike Mancuso delivered a statement summarizing his thoughts on the move made by Mosby. Mancuso pointed out that only a judge should be the one pondering whether a no-knock warrant is or is not granted:
“There is a time and place for no-knock warrants in law enforcement! A Judge should be the only person who decides whether a no-knock is warranted, after a thorough review of the probable cause in the affidavit.”
— Baltimore City FOP (@FOP3) October 14, 2020
“One of the most dangerous places for a police officer serving a search warrant is in the front of a door, knocking. This action gives violent criminals the opportunity to arm themselves, which should never occur. The element of surprise should be afforded to the police whenever the circumstances permit.”
Mancuso’s statement seemed to hint that this move was more of a show of political agendas being imposed rather than common sense approaches to complex problems:
“This action is completely irresponsible and an overreach, though predictable. We urge all Baltimore City Judges not to get caught up in the agendas of others, but to continue to follow the facts as presented.”
Even Baltimore Defense Attorney Warren Brown noted that sometimes, a no-knock warrant is an appropriate route to take when considering at-stake elements in serving a warrant:
“It’s usually because of the safety of the officers or the fear of the evidence they expect to be there is going to be destroyed if they say ‘police, police’.”
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