A University of Southern California freshman said he will advocate for reform after he was blinded by a law enforcement projectile at a "No Kings" protest in Los Angeles in late March.
Tucker Collins, 18, his mother, and his attorney, V. James DeSimone, spoke at a news conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday to announce the initiation of legal action against the federal government. DeSimone said he believes a Federal Protective Service officer employed by the Department of Homeland Security fired the shot at Collins’ face.
Collins, an astronautical engineering student at USC, said many activities have become more challenging since his eyeball was surgically removed due to his injury, including many of the fine skills he needs to handle small objects as part of his engineering degree. Collins said he will also need to undergo additional surgeries in the future.
He criticized the federal officer who fired toward his head.
“There’s no realm in which you should do that. Especially in a situation where I’m behind a fence, I’m 30 feet away, I’m just taking photos, there’s nothing that I’m posing a threat to,” Collins said.
Videos provided to Scripps News last week by DeSimone showed Collins was taking pictures and videos during a demonstration outside a federal detention center in Los Angeles when he suddenly fell to the ground. Other photos showed the young man’s face covered in blood, and being tended to by a medic..
“We have the First Amendment right to protest,” DeSimone told Scripps News. “There are ways to deal with crowds. They don’t include shooting less lethal projectiles traveling over 200 miles an hour at people unless there is an imminent threat to those officers.”
In a statement to Scripps News, a DHS spokesperson said last week, “The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly – not rioting. DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters. Our law enforcement has followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property.”
The statement went on to say that seven warnings were issued before crowd control measures were deployed, describing the scene as a riot during which people “threw rocks, bottles, and cement blocks” at officers at the Roybal Federal Building. Several people were arrested, according to the government’s statement.
At the news conference, Collins disputed the government’s assertion that there were audible warnings before he was hit.
“I was recording when it happened. There was no warning,” Collins said. “One minute I was recording and the next minute I couldn’t see.”
DeSimone said he initially thought Collins may have been struck by a pepperball, but now believes an agent used an FN303 launcher and ammo. The attorney said he obtained photos from the student’s surgeon showing debris and fragments from the projectile that were removed from the student’s eye.
“I saw all the photos from the surgery, and I know this is kind of childish but I just can’t believe that was in my eye. I can’t believe it was that easy and that quick to inflict this kind of damage,” Collins said.
“They call them less lethal projectiles. I want to emphasize that’s ‘less’ lethal. They can kill someone if they hit someone in the head,” DeSimone said.
DeSimone called on city officials to conduct a criminal investigation into the officer who fired the projectile.
The medic who tended to Collins at the protest, who asked to be identified only by her online moniker of Ken, told Scripps News she had to pick up the student and carry him to safety while officers continued to fire less-lethal munitions at the crowd. She said she has frequently attended protests and treated people who were hurt, but the injury to Collins stands out.
“I’ve treated quite a few injuries, but this was probably the most serious and traumatic I’ve treated,” Ken said. “It was like a war zone.”
During Wednesday’s news conference, Collins said he is doing his best to return to normal life, but he doesn’t know how possible that will be.
“This is permanent.. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do what I love. I’ll just forever be changed,” Collins said.
DeSimone said his office filed a federal tort claim on the student’s behalf this week. The attorney said the claim is the first step in the legal process. If no settlement is reached, Collins can proceed with filing a lawsuit against the federal government.
