A man sued the city of Los Angeles Friday for injuries he says he suffered when hit by an officer's rubber bullet while celebrating the Dodgers' World Series victory in 2024.
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Angel Rincon's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit includes two color photos of him with injuries to the right side of his face near his eye. He alleges negligence, battery, civil rights violations and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He seeks unspecified compensatory damages as well as punitive damages against the still unidentified officers.
A representative for the City Attorney's Office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
According to Rincon's suit, last Oct. 30, the plaintiff and his family attended a public assembly at Whittier and Atlantic boulevards to celebrate the Dodgers' victory over the New York Yankees in the World Series. Los Angeles Police Department officers were among those watching over the crowds, the suit further states.
After Rincon and his relatives decided to leave on foot, a large group of LAPD officers began shooting rubber bullets into the assembly area, the suit states.
"While plaintiff was peacefully leaving the area, an unidentified LAPD officer recklessly and inhumanely shot plaintiff with a rubber bullet on the right side of his face," the suit states.
The projectile missed Rincon's right eye by less than an inch, but he immediately felt "excruciating" pain throughout the right side of his face and head as well as dizziness and disorientation as blood dripped down the side of his face, according to the suit, which further states that Rincon "posed absolutely no threat to either the officers at the scene of the incident or to other civilians."
Rincon was left with "extreme pain and severe mental anguish" and has incurred hospital and related medical expenses, the suit states.
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