Overview

• HRW concluded officers engaged in brutal, excessive and unnecessary force against demonstrators and members of the press during June 6–14 protests in downtown Los Angeles.
• The report documented 65 cases of protesters and journalists injured and said it recorded 39 incidents involving journalists, warning the real toll is likely higher.
• Investigators cited close-range use of hard foam rounds, flash-bang grenades, pepper balls and tear gas, with injuries that included broken bones, concussions, severe eye damage and an amputated finger.
• Journalists were among those hurt, including an AFP photographer struck in the face by a rubber bullet on June 14 and Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi, who was hit by a kinetic impact projectile.
• HRW said the force violated the ICCPR and the First Amendment, while California law restricts kinetic projectiles at protests and injured journalists and protesters have filed suits against Los Angeles County and the Department of Homeland Security.