Body camera footage shows LAPD officer shooting protestor with projectile at close range

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said it is investigating a use-of-force incident from early June in which an officer fired a foam-coated projectile into the groin of a male protester.

LAPD released footage Friday of an officer yanking a large sign from the hands of a man in a Hollywood intersection, shoving him backward as he puts his hands up, then shooting him in the groin with a foam projectile at close range.

The protest was among many that popped up across the nation after the May 25 death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis.

Police said the department’s Force Investigation Division launched a probe into the incident on Aug. 19 after the Los Angeles Times reported that a man who identified himself as 28-year-old filmmaker Ben Montemayor said he was the victim of the shooting, which he claimed resulted in serious injuries to his testicles that required emergency surgery.

LAPD Capt. Stacy Spell said the 40mm “less lethal” weapon used in the shooting is designed to cause pain or bruising but no injuries. Spell said that the department has attempted to contact Montemayor but he referred investigators to his attorney.

The department said the investigation will likely take several months.