Two Peaceful Protesters With Head Wounds From LAPD, LACSD Munitions File Civil Rights Lawsuits

MARINA DEL REY, CALIF., Feb. 12, 2026 – Two people who suffered serious facial and head wounds from “less-lethal” projectiles used against them on June 8, 2025, while they peacefully protested the federal government’s aggressive ICE raids and civil rights abuses have filed claims against Los Angeles County, the LA County Sheriff’s Department, the City of Los Angeles and the LAPD.

Daisy Bravo suffered a traumatic brain injury when she was shot in her head as she was leaving a protest against the ICE kidnappings of undocumented immigrants. Miguel Mendoza also sustained a traumatic brain injury after being shot in his face, the projectile breaking his nose, fracturing facial bones and leaving him in need of facial reconstruction surgery.

“Both LAPD and the LA County Sheriff’s Department have policies explicitly prohibiting officers and deputies from shooting these devices at peoples’ heads. The life-changing damage of serious head wounds like these sustained by Ms. Bravo and Mr. Mendoza are the exact reason these policies were adopted.”

Allowing officers and deputies to shoot indiscriminately at head level, into crowds, ensures that many people will be hurt and with life-changing injuries, DeSimone said.

Both civil rights lawsuits were filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court: Mendoza’s on Feb. 10; Bravo’s on Feb. 11.

Mendoza was taking photos and videos of the protests near the Los Angeles City Hall on Main Street when LAPD officers started coming towards where he stood, using batons to hit people in their way. Mendoza did not witness anyone in his immediate vicinity acting violently or posing a threat to any officer or individual, yet the officers started firing less-lethal projectiles at them, the lawsuit states.

Mendoza had just taken a picture of a flag and was looking down at his phone when a bullet from a less-lethal projectile hit him directly in his face. He was brought to an emergency room, where a CAT scan showed he had a broken nose and facial fractures on the right side of his face. He also needed stitches for lacerations below his nose, above his lip and inside his mouth.

The unlawful use of force left him facing ongoing pain, numbness, and a traumatic brain injury with memory and concentration problems. It also caused permanent facial scarring requiring surgery, lasting psychological trauma, and substantial medical bills and lost wages.

Like many, Bravo felt it was important to take a peaceful stand against ICE’s abuse of the community’s hard working families and the violations of civil rights, in her community. After work, she arrived in Compton and parked near the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Alondra Boulevard, joining roughly 150 individuals exercising their First Amendment rights.

She spent the evening observing and occasionally photographing and filming flag-waving marchers and musicians. At no point did she threaten officers or impede traffic, which remained open on Atlantic Avenue while Alondra Boulevard was blocked by a single skirmish line of police in riot gear.

At about 1:20 a.m., LAPD squad cars pulled forward and activated sirens to seal Atlantic Avenue, yet no dispersal order was issued. Within 10 minutes, LASD deputies arrived to reinforce the closure. When Bravo asked an LASD deputy for permission to cross the street to her parked car, the deputy, instead of responding, grabbed her arm and pushed her away. As she walked away to comply, LAPD officers and LASD deputies, without warning, suddenly fired projectiles indiscriminately into the crowd.

As Bravo was moving away in compliance with the commands, one of those rounds struck the back of her head, leaving her dazed, bleeding, and nearly unconscious. Emergency room doctors closed the wound with seven staples. Persistent headaches, dizziness, and confusion prompted a follow-up CT scan confirming a concussion. She still suffers constant pain, cognitive difficulties, and anxiety that disrupt both her life and that of her five-year-old son.

Firing impact munitions without warning at non-threatening civilians, and especially firing them at peoples’ heads, violates First and Fourth Amendment rights and California Civil Code.

“No one peacefully protesting should be left with facial fractures and a brain injury because law enforcement chose force over restraint. LAPD and LASD have to stop treating protected speech like a threat. The Constitution doesn’t disappear just because there’s a crowd,” DeSimone said. When agencies don’t discipline unlawful force, they teach it, he added. “LAPD and LASD must commit to real accountability and adhere to their policies.”

Los Angeles civil rights attorney V. James DeSimone has dedicated his 40-year law career to providing vigorous and ethical representation to achieve justice for those whose civil and constitutional rights are violated.

Related Press

https://davisvanguard.org/2026/02/excessive-force-less-lethal-lawsuits/