A 31-year-old Los Angeles man was awarded $375,000 in damages in federal court in Santa Ana on Thursday, March, 9 after a jury found an LAPD officer liable for wounding him during a 2020 George Floyd protest.
Deon Jones, 31, alleged in his lawsuit filed three years ago that he was leaving the area when Los Angeles police officer Peter Bueno, wearing riot gear, fired a rubber bullet at him. The projectile caused a fracture and lacerations to Jones’ cheek.
The lawsuit said an ophthalmologist told Jones that if the bullet had struck millimeters from where he was actually hit, Jones could have been blinded or killed.
The trial, which lasted seven days, included body-worn camera evidence and testimony from other LAPD officers who said Bueno violated department policy, according to a statement from the law firm Gibson Dunn, which represented Jones and called the verdict “historic.”
“The jury today sent a strong message that there will be consequences if the police abuse their authority and commit acts of violence against innocent protesters,” Jones’ attorney Orin Snyder said in the statement.
Bueno’s attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
An LAPD spokesman said the department cannot comment on pending litigation, but officials previously said the LAPD is investigating its handling of Floyd-related protests that took place throughout the city.
It was not immediately clear how Jones would be paid the money he was awarded.
Staff writer Hanna Lykke contributed to this report.
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