Particle.news

Download on the App Store

Los Angeles Police Persist in Deploying ‘Less Lethal’ Weapons as Protests Continue

Experts warn these tools cause serious trauma, prompting rights organizations to call for binding international regulation

Image
The 101 Freeway is reopened and littered with debris from yesterday’s protest, including 40mm Flash Bang canisters, after it was closed down yesterday by protesters, after the California National Guard was deployed by U.S. President Donald Trump as a response to protests against federal immigration sweeps, in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 9, 2025.   REUTERS/Jill Connelly/File Photo
A member of the Los Angeles Metro Police fires a rubber bullet during a protest against federal immigration sweeps in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 8, 2025.

Overview

  • Since June 7, the Los Angeles Police Department has deployed rubber bullets, tear gas, pepper balls and flash-bangs to disperse protesters opposing federal immigration raids in Downtown Los Angeles.
  • Journalists and protesters, including Nine News US correspondent Lauren Tomasi, suffered injuries from these munitions.
  • Medical studies warn that blunt-force projectiles can cause severe trauma, eye damage and respiratory distress from chemical irritants.
  • A BMJ review found that between 1990 and 2017, kinetic impact projectiles killed at least 53 people, permanently disabled 300 and severely injured about 1,500 globally.
  • Human rights organizations and medical experts are demanding legally binding international controls on the manufacture, trade and use of these weapons.