LA to Pay $11.8M After Blinding
- A Los Angeles man blinded by a police projectile during a Dodgers celebration will receive a settlement. - The city agreed to pay $11.8 million to the victim after the incident caused permanent vision loss. - The payout adds to scrutiny of LAPD crowd-control tactics and use-of-force policies (independent.co.uk).
A federal jury ordered Los Angeles to pay $11.8 million to Isaac Castellanos, who was blinded in one eye by a police projectile during a Dodgers celebration in 2020. (abcnews.com) The verdict came on Thursday, April 16, after a trial over what happened early on Oct. 28, 2020, when Castellanos, then a 22-year-old college student, was struck in the face in downtown Los Angeles. He is now 27. (apnews.com) Jurors unanimously found Officers Cody MacArthur and Jesse Pineda liable for negligence, excessive force and violating Castellanos’ constitutional rights. LAist reported the officers fired 37mm less-lethal launchers toward the crowd where he was standing. (laist.com) Castellanos said he was peacefully celebrating the Dodgers’ World Series win near what is now Crypto.com Arena and did not hear a dispersal order before officers advanced. Video shown at trial also captured some people in the crowd throwing rocks and bottles, though Castellanos said he was not involved. (laist.com) The case turns on weapons police call “less-lethal,” a term for projectiles meant to reduce the chance of death, not eliminate the risk of serious injury. LAPD’s current directive says 37mm launchers are crowd-control tools and California classifies them as kinetic energy projectiles. (lapdonline.org) LAPD policy says officers may use 37mm less-lethal munitions in crowd control only with an incident commander’s approval and after a dispersal order, unless immediate action is necessary to stop violence, protect public safety and restore order. That policy became a focal point in years of litigation over how Los Angeles police handled large crowds after 2020. (justia.com) The lawsuit was filed in federal court in February 2022 and named the city and officers involved. Court records list the case as *Isaac Castellanos v. City of Los Angeles*, No. 2:22-cv-01165, in the Central District of California. (courtlistener.com) The payout lands amid broader scrutiny of LAPD crowd-control tactics. LAist reported that Los Angeles had already paid more than $19 million in liabilities tied to LAPD crowd-control actions since the start of 2020, with Castellanos’ verdict the largest amount in that span. (laist.com) LAPD did not respond to LAist’s request for comment after the verdict. Castellanos’ lawyer, Pedram Esfandiary, said he hoped the result would show that people should be able to celebrate or protest without being injured by police. (laist.com)
