LOS ANGELES (KNX) — The city of Los Angeles was on the receiving end of a lawsuit filed Tuesday by a man who claims he was wrongfully shot in the leg by a projectile fired by an L.A. police officer while protesting the removal of homeless encampments at Echo Park Lake last year.
Ethan Bochicchio’s suit alleged violation of his civil rights, false imprisonment, negligence, and battery. The complaint sought unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
Bochicchio said he was at Echo Park Lake on the evening of March 24, 2021, “exercising his right to peacefully protest against the removal of displaced and unhoused people,” according to the complaint. He said he was unarmed and posed no threat to LAPD officers, who were standing in a skirmish line near protesters.
“Suddenly, and without warning, the … police officers began assaulting and battering a female protester who Mr. Bochicchio had met earlier that evening,” the suit alleged. When Bochicchio tried to stand next to the female protester, officers allegedly shoved him with a baton and pushed his face into the ground. Another officer then shot him in one leg with a non-lethal projectile, the suit claimed.
Bochicchio claimed to have “writhed in pain” and tried to leave the area, but officers formed a blockade preventing him from doing so. He was only able to vacate the area after the blockade ended.
"The police officers who fired at Mr. Bochicchio had absolutely no reason to believe that (he) was armed, dangerous or creating a serious threat to anyone's safety so as to justify any use of force, let alone less-than- lethal force," the suit stated. He claimed to have incurred significant bills and expenses from consulting medical doctors, psychologists, and psychiatrists in connection with the incident.
Bochicchio alleged the LAPD failed to properly train officers in deployment of non-lethal rounds against protesters.
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