LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A 29-year-old man filed suit today against the city of Los Angeles and its police department, alleging that his constitutional rights were violated when he was wounded by an officer who fired a projectile at his face during a May demonstration in the Fairfax area to protest the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Deon Jones, of Los Angeles, alleges in the complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court that he was leaving the area when an LAPD officer in riot gear fired a projectile directly at his face.
An LAPD spokesman said the department cannot comment on pending litigation, but officials previously said the LAPD is investigating its handling of Floyd-related protests that took place throughout the city over a number of days this spring.
The lawsuit -- which seeks an end to the LAPD's use of rubber bullets during demonstrations -- states that when Jones fell to the ground on May 30, he cried out, ``Why did they do this to me?''
The city and LAPD are also being sued in federal court by Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and the National Lawyers Guild in a proposed class-action lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of protesters. That suit also seeks to ban the police use of projectile weapons at such gatherings.
Dozens of other lawsuits have been filed by individuals who were injured by police at the demonstrations.
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