Activists suing LAPD allege officer shot foam rounds at their groins at point-blank range

Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times on Apr 7, 2026

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LOS ANGELES — Three prominent activists have filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department, claiming an LAPD officer shot them at point-blank range with foam rounds without provocation during a protest over the summer.

The suit, filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleges that the officer, Rick Linton, used excessive force against community activist Jason Reedy and civil rights attorneys Ricci Sergienko and Shakeer Rahman outside LAPD headquarters on the night of June 9, 2025.

Portions of the incident were captured on various live streams broadcast by the plaintiffs and other bystanders. The video shows the three men approach Linton, who is standing on an elevated platform outside of an LAPD auditorium that abuts the main police building at 100 W. First St.

The three men said they had been attending a demonstration that had been slowly winding through downtown when they observed the officer pointing his 40mm less-lethal launcher at the crowd. After the trio crossed the street and began recording Linton, video shows the officer firing a foam round at Reedy as he held his hands in the air, striking him in the groin. He also allegedly fired another that struck Sergienko in the stomach.

When Rahman confronted the officer and demanded to know his name and badge number, Linton allegedly responded by warning him to leave and threatening to "pop you right now because you're taking up my focus." When Rahman persisted, the officer, who was seen pacing back and forth on the platform, said it was "gonna hurt."

Moments later, video showed the officer raising his weapon over the glass partition that separated them and firing two foam rounds at Rahman, nearly striking him in his groin.

The Los Angeles city attorney's office, which defends the LAPD in most civil lawsuits, generally does not comment on pending litigation as a matter of policy. An email to its spokesperson went unreturned; Linton also did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent to his department email account.

The lawsuit — which alleges police violated the men's civil rights, used excessive force and intentionally inflicted emotional stress — says that nearby supervisors failed to intervene.

Reedy, a widely-recognized LAPD critic who confronts police and city officials in public forums, said that the incident was another example of wanton use of the 40mm weapons, which launch projectiles the size of a mini soda can at speeds of more than 200 mph.

"We're hoping that he gets fired," Reedy said of the officer involved. "We've seen that LAPD at this moment under Jim McDonnell is doing whatever they want and not really facing any kind of accountability."

The LAPD's crowd-control tactics have been under scrutiny for decades, and the subject of withering criticism since the Trump administration began aggressive immigration raids in Los Angeles in the summer. At protests in downtown, officers were shown on video last year trampling demonstrators on horseback and aiming so-called less-lethal launchers at people's heads in a violation of department policy.

According to a report posted to the department's website, LAPD officers fired nearly 1,400 less-lethal rounds over a six-day period that began June 9; they also deployed tear gas.

Police officials said in the report that officers responded with force after members of the crowd threw rocks, bottles, fireworks and Molotov cocktails at police and burned several vehicles. Police issued several dispersal orders before authorizing the use of force, which included deploying tear gas.

Officials have promised thorough investigations of all uses of force.

The department stopped using the launchers after a federal judge issued an injunction in January, but has deployed other types of crowd control weapons in subsequent protests. The judge ruled that officers have repeatedly violated previous court orders that allow the weapon to be used only to subdue protesters who pose a threat of violence.

Recently, an appeals court largely upheld the earlier ruling.

At Tuesday's meeting of the Police Commission, the public comment period was filled with speakers who accused the department of ignoring the court order and continuing to target members of the news media and nonviolent protesters.

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