Jury Awards $375K To LA Police Brutality Victim

What if I were to tell you that, despite what “back the blue” bootlicker America would have you believe, many of the clashes between protesters and police officers during the wave of George Floyd protests were instigated by cops, not demonstrators? What if I were to tell you that when “blue lives matter” acolytes claim the protests were displays of Black Lives Matter terrorism and lawlessness, and “peace officers” were just innocently doing their jobs, they’re really only saying that because they’re racist and because dry-humping police officers is just as much an American pastime as baseball, apple pie and cops beating the sh*t out of Black people?

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In Los Angeles, a man was awarded $375,000 earlier this month by a jury that found his constitutional rights were violated when an LAPD officer shot him in the face with a rubber bullet for no discernable reason.

Deon Jones, 31, a Los Angeles performance artist and entrepreneur, alleged in the complaint filed three years ago that he was leaving the area when Los Angeles police officer Peter Bueno, wearing riot gear, fired the rubber bullet, reports CBS Los Angeles.

Following a seven-day trial in Santa Ana federal court, the jury found that the shooting was “malicious, oppressive, or in reckless disregard of Mr. Jones’ rights,” according to Orin Snyder, Jones’ attorney.

“Deon Jones filed this case to hold the defendant accountable for shooting him in the face with a rubber bullet at a protest without any justification,” Snyder said in a statement.

“Justice has now been done. The defendant is being held accountable. We are grateful to the court and the jury for their time and attention to this important case. We are proud to have stood with Mr. Jones during this long-fought battle to vindicate his constitutional rights. 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.”

The plaintiff’s attorney used police body camera footage along with eyewitness testimony from bystanders and other LAPD officers to prove his case. (You know it’s bad when even other cops are like, “Nah, po-po did that sh*t!”) The jury awarded Jones $250,000 in damages for the injuries he sustained and $125,000 in punitive damages.

Meanwhile, this isn’t the only police brutality lawsuit the LAPD is facing. According to CBS, the city of Los Angeles and its police department—which, if we’re keeping it a buck, has been infamous for police brutality cases since Rodney King—are also being sued in federal court by Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and the National Lawyers Guild in a proposed class-action lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of protesters. It’s unclear if that lawsuit seeks any monetary damages, but it does seek to ban the use of “less lethal” projectile weapons by police during protests.

Speaking of lawsuits filed on behalf of hundreds of police violence victims who were injured during protests over—*checks notes*—police violence, the city of Philadelphia recently agreed to pay a combined $9.25 million to hundreds of 2020 protesters who were teargassed, struck with rubber bullets and detained by Philadelphia police, which has a long history of committing civil rights violations against citizens.

So, you don’t have to believe me when I say cops were often the aggressors during protests and civil unrest in 2020. You can just ask the cities and police departments that are currently saying “I’m sorry” with their wallets.