A 21-year-old college student says he was blinded in one eye by a pellet fired by a federal officer during a protest in Southern California and now faces a very different life.
Kaden Rummler said in an interview that after he was injured when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis on January 9, sparking protests, he was in excruciating pain and underwent a six-hour major surgery on his left eye. Ramler said he has no depth perception and can no longer drive. His attorney said shards of metal and nickel-sized pieces of plastic remained in his skull and he was considering filing a lawsuit.
“This is going to impact every aspect of my life,” said Rumler, who hopes to pursue a career in forestry.
At the same protest outside the federal immigration building in Orange County, another demonstrator told the Los Angeles Times that he was also struck in the eye by a projectile fired by federal agents. British Rodriguez, 31, said he was standing on the steps outside the immigration building when he was hit in the face.
“I remember hitting the ground and feeling like my eyes were exploding in my head,” Rodriguez told the newspaper.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions from The Associated Press about what type of projectiles were used. Tricia McLaughlin, the agency’s assistant secretary, said in an emailed statement this week that protesters were violent and two officers were injured, but did not specify the extent of their injuries. The Department of Homeland Security said one protester was taken to the hospital with a cut. McLaughlin confirmed to The Times that this was a reference to Rumler and called his claims of injury “ridiculous.”
Rumler was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct. One of his fellow protesters was sentenced to several days in jail and charged with assaulting, resisting or obstructing federal officers.
Rumler’s attorney, John Washington, said doctors wanted to know whether the material in the pellets was toxic but could not get an answer from the Department of Homeland Security. Washington said based on a preliminary investigation, they believe it was a capsule made of metal and plastic that contained pepper spray.
The injuries in California are the latest in a growing number of violent clashes between federal agents and community members amid protests over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Federal immigration agents deployed to Minneapolis have employed aggressive crowd control tactics, which became a major problem after the shooting death of Renee Good.
On January 9, in Santa Ana, California, hundreds of people took to the streets to protest against the killing of Goode. A small group later gathered outside the federal immigration building and shouted curses at ICE through a loudspeaker, according to video captured by OC Hawk, an Orange County breaking news shooting group.
Video showed several police officers in riot gear standing guard urging demonstrators to retreat. An orange cone was later seen rolling into the plaza outside the building, and authorities began firing crowd control munitions as they walked towards the crowd.
In the video, a police officer can be seen grabbing a protester’s arm as Rumler and some others step forward and yell in response. An officer then fired his crowd-control weapon, striking Rumler from several feet away. Video shows Rumler grabbing his face and falling to the ground, where an officer grabbed him by his shirt and dragged him backwards from the ground toward the building. Later, the video shows him lying face down on the ground and being handcuffed.
Rumler said he took part in protests against immigration authorities because he could not bear to see families being forced from their homes. Despite the injury, he said he would do it again.
“I refused to stand by and watch this happen, and 50 years from now I will absolutely regret not trying to make a change,” he said.
Civil rights attorney Washington said his client may have been killed.
“Any police officer with even the most basic training would know that you would never shoot someone in the face with this weapon, let alone at close range, and that’s because when used that way, it’s a lethal weapon and that’s pretty much what it is,” Washington said.
Jeffrey Alpert, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, said the reasons for using so much force in this situation need to be thoroughly investigated.
“I don’t know of any projectiles that can be trained to shoot at such a close range,” Alpert said.
