'Less lethal' weapons: How law enforcement is using force in the LA protests

USA Today

19 hours ago

'Less lethal' weapons: How law enforcement is using force in the LA protests
Seven hundred Marines have been activated and are preparing to deploy to Los Angeles where they will join National Guard troops ordered to protect federal personnel and property in response to protests over immigration raids. President Donald Trump said the guard, sent over the objections of local and state leaders, would restore order after clashes between police and protesters angry at his aggressive pursuit of undocumented immigrants.
Videos of the protests have shown both peaceful gatherings and chaotic skirmishes with protesters hurling objects and law enforcement firing so-called 'less lethal' weapons. This ammunition is designed to travel more slowly than bullets and cause pain without penetrating the body, but still can cause serious injury and death.
Police departments across the country are increasingly adopting less-than-lethal weapons in the wake of police shootings in which unarmed citizens were killed, according to a January 2025 report by the Congressional Research Service. Some examples include:
Batons or nightsticks
Pepper spray
Tear gas
Tasers
Flash-bang grenades
Rubber bullets
Beanbag rounds
Sponge Grenades
Here's a look at key events over the last few days and various munitions being used by law enforcement:
Friday, June 6
Homeland Security agents detained several people outside a Home Depot west of downtown L.A., and later at a clothing store in the Fashion District. People gathered to photograph and video the officers, and a few protesters also arrived. Four search warrants were executed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a spokesperson for Homeland Security told the Los Angeles Times. At least 44 people were arrested.
By around 6:30 p.m. local time more than 100 people gathered at the immigration services building and detention center in downtown Los Angeles to protest the raids, according to Reuters. At around 7 p.m. local time, the Los Angeles Police Department declared it an unlawful assembly and ordered the crowd to disperse. Some protesters threw pieces of broken concrete at the officers, who responded by firing tear gas and pepper spray. They also used flash-bang concussion rounds to disperse the crowd.
Pepper spray is a lachrymatory agent, which means it stimulates the eyes to produce tears. The main active ingredient is an oil known as oleoresin capsicum, the same agent that provides 'heat' in chili peppers, according to Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency physician in New York City. It is typically dispersed as an aerosol or as small particles in a liquid spray, according to the National Capital Poison Center. Pepper sprays and mists can travel 8 to 12 feet, according to Sabre, a popular brand of pepper spray. Gel sprays can travel 20% farther.
Saturday, June 7
The next day, larger protests began in the town of Paramount, south of Los Angeles, linked to rumors of a possible immigration raid. According to Los Angeles Times reporters who were on the scene, each time protesters threw anything at the agents or the police, tear gas and flash-bang rounds were fired back by federal agents. Law enforcement could also be seen firing pepper-spray balls in videos.
With a range of up to 30 feet, pepper-spray balls are made of plastic that breaks on impact to release a chemical irritant intended to stun or incapacitate somebody. Sometimes, they contain marking paint for identifying a suspect or a particular area. Pepper-spray balls are typically the same caliber as recreational paintballs. They are typically deployed with paintball-style guns powered by compressed air.
According to Homeland Security, on Saturday night, rioters surrounded the immigration services building and detention center, "assaulted ICE law enforcement officers, slashed tires, defaced buildings, and taxpayer-funded property. " In response, Trump signed a presidential memorandum deploying "at least" 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles.
Sunday, June 9
Early Sunday, dozens of National Guard troops arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center three blocks from Los Angeles City Hall. By 10:30 a.m., as many as 300 members of the California National Guard had been deployed in three separate parts of the city. Crowds of protesters began arriving in the area around the federal complex around noon. Protests were not widespread, and most of the city was quiet.
The situation escalated as the afternoon wore on. Many protesters waved Mexican flags or hybrid Mexican-American flags and chanted anti-ICE slogans. Some were also seen throwing water bottles and other objects at officers and law enforcement vehicles. Videos shared on social media and footage from local television stations showed officers in riot gear, with the sound of flash-bangs in the background.
Lauren Tomasi, a U.S. national correspondent for Australia's 9News, was sore but unharmed after being shot in the leg by a Los Angeles officer. The incident was captured on video.
At least five Waymo self-driving taxis were vandalized by protesters who spray-painted them with anti-Trump and anti-ICE slogans. At least two were set on fire.
At one point, a crowd of protesters walked onto the 101 Freeway, blocking traffic in both directions. They were confronted by officers in riot gear, and by 5 p.m. local time the freeway was cleared.
LAPD said on X that it had placed officers across the city on "tactical alert." The police department later declared an 'unlawful assembly' for the Civic Center area and the historic Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles, an area covering a small portion of the sprawling city of 500 square miles. It had authorized the 'use of less lethal munitions."
Videos and photos at the scene showed police firing sponge grenades and other less lethal projectiles. Sponge grenades, or sponge rounds, are designed to stop violent aggressors without killing them and for crowd control. These projectiles are designed to cause blunt trauma and pain that temporarily disables the person.
They are supposed to be fired at the legs or lower torso, and police are trained to avoid the head, neck and groin. Firing the projectiles from a distance decreases their force and accuracy and increases the risk of shooting people in the face or hitting bystanders. Firing too closely increases the risk of serious injury.
At 8 p.m., authorities moved in aggressively with flash-bangs and tear gas grenades, sending hundreds of people running, their eyes streaming with tears. Helicopters clattered overhead as protesters fled the area to the honking of car horns and periodic cheers. Other video shot in the Compton area later that evening also shows flashbangs being deployed.
Documents describing L.A.P.D.'s use of force tactics also list the beanbag shotgun. A bean bag round is a small fabric sack filled with No. 9 lead shot and fired by a shotgun. It is designed to expand in flight and cause trauma to the body, including muscle spasms, without penetrating the skin. These rounds are intended to be fired at large muscle groups on a dangerous person. The head and neck areas should be avoided to prevent killing them.
Other munitions such as rubber or plastic bullets, also known as kinetic impact projectiles, have been used by law enforcement to control crowds.
A 2017 study by the medical journal BMJ Open using injury data collected over 27 years found that of 1,984 people injured by rubber and plastic bullets and other projectiles in arrests and protests, '53 died as a result of their injuries and 300 others suffered permanent disability.' Deaths and permanent disability were often caused by "strikes to the head and neck," the study said.
Contributing: Elizabeth Weise, Trevor Hughes, John Bacon, N'dea Yancey-Bragg, Michael Loria, Tom Vanden Brook Davis Winkie, USA TODAY
Read more:
Live updates: 700 Marines being sent to LA for riot assistance in response to protests
Timeline: LA protests went from small to substantial over three days. Here's what unfolded
'Less lethal' can still maim and kill: A visual guide to weapons police use on protesters