California protester says he was blinded in one eye and life is changed

Protest injuries raise questions about federal crowd control

A California protester says he was blinded in one eye by a projectile fired by a federal officer during a Jan. 9 demonstration outside a federal immigration building in Santa Ana, adding to complaints about how federal agents handled crowd control during immigration-related protests.

Kaden Rummler, 21, said he was in agonizing pain and underwent extensive six-hour surgery to his left eye after being injured at the protest. He said he has no depth perception and can no longer drive. Rummler said shards of metal and a nickel-sized piece of plastic remained lodged in his skull, according to his attorney.

Rummler said the injury will change his life and hopes to pursue a career in forestry. “It’s going to affect every aspect of my life,” he said.

Rummler said he joined the protest against immigration authorities because he cannot stand seeing families torn from their homes, and he said he would do it again. “I refuse to sit around idly and watch that happen, and in 50 years, I would absolutely regret not trying to make a change,” he said.

A second demonstrator at the same Jan. 9 protest outside the federal immigration building in Orange County, Britain Rodriguez, 31, told the Los Angeles Times he was also blinded in one eye by a projectile fired by federal agents. Rodriguez said he was standing on steps outside the immigration building when he was struck in the face, telling the newspaper, “I remember hitting the ground and feeling like my eye exploded in my head.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions from The Associated Press about what type of projectile was used. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the agency, said in an emailed statement that the protesters were violent and that two officers were injured, but did not specify the extent of their injuries. DHS said one demonstrator was taken to the hospital with a cut, and McLaughlin confirmed to the Times that the reference was to Rummler and called his injury claims “absurd.”

Rummler has been charged with a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. One of his fellow protesters was jailed for several days and has been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal officer.

Rummler’s attorney John Washington said doctors want to know whether the materials in the projectile could be toxic but have been unable to get answers from DHS. Washington said based on their preliminary investigation they believe it was a capsule made from metal and plastic containing pepper spray.

Washington said in remarks carried by the Associated Press that he believes the force used was improper. “Any officers with just the most basic training would know you don’t shoot someone ever in the face with this, but let alone at point-blank range, and that’s because it is a lethal weapon when used like that, and it very nearly was,” he said.

Geoffrey Alpert, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, said a thorough investigation is needed into the reason for using a high level of force in the situation. “I don’t know of any projectile where you train to shoot at that close range,” Alpert said.

The AP reported that the injuries in California were among a growing number of violent encounters between federal agents and community members during protests over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. In Santa Ana, hundreds of people marched on Jan. 9 to protest Renee Good’s killing, and a smaller group later congregated outside the federal immigration building, shouting expletives through megaphones about ICE, according to video taken by OC Hawk.

The AP said the video shows officers in riot gear standing guard and urging demonstrators to move back, after which authorities began firing crowd-control projectiles as they walked toward the crowd. The AP said the video shows an officer grabbing Rummler by the arm and Rummler and others stepping forward shouting in response, before an officer fired a crowd-control weapon that struck Rummler from several feet away. The AP said the video shows Rummler grabbing his face and falling, and officers grabbing him by the shirt and dragging him backward across the ground toward the building; later, video appears to show him face down on the ground being handcuffed.