Officers Issue Dispersal Order And Rush At Crowd Firing Less Lethal

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 30, 2025, 7:18 PM

officers issue dispersal order and rush at crowd firing less lethal

Rebecca Ellis covers Los Angeles County government for the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she covered Portland city government for Oregon Public Broadcasting. Before OPB, Ellis wrote for the Miami Herald, freelanced for the Providence Journal and reported as a Kroc fellow at NPR in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Brown University in 2018. Ellis was a finalist for the Livingston Awards in 2022 for her investigation into abuses within Portland’s private security industry and in 2024 for an investigation into sexual abuse inside L.A. County’s juvenile halls.

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Members of the Los Angeles Police Department appear to have violated California law and a federal court order with their use of crowd control weapons during protests, civil rights attorneys told LAist. Two state laws passed in response to law enforcement actions during the 2020 George Floyd protests restrict the use of chemical agents and kinetic energy projectiles — crowd control weapons that include tear gas... The laws also forbid police from interfering with journalists covering protests. The laws state that crowd dispersal weapons can only be used when there is a clear threat to officers or bystanders, not solely to disperse crowds. Their use is supposed to follow clear warnings from law enforcement officers, from multiple locations and in multiple languages when possible. A federal court order stemming from litigation after the 2020 protests imposes similar restrictions on LAPD.

A protester raises his hands in the air while covering his face as a tear gas canister explodes while demonstrators attempt to retreat from in front of City Hall in downtown Los Angeles, Calif.,... (Jake Crandall | The Corsair) A small group of protesters sits while taking less-than-lethal fire and tear gas in between the crowd of demonstrators and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officers in downtown Los Angeles, Calif., on Saturday, June 14,... A dispersal order was issued in front of the Federal Building, where law enforcement moved the protesters past the Temple Street Bridge, where a large crowd remained. (Jake Crandall | The Corsair) A KTLA news van attempts to drive away as tear gas is thrown around it towards protesters on North Main Street in downtown Los Angeles, Calif., on Saturday, June 14, 2025, during the No...

A dispersal order was issued in front of the Federal Building, where law enforcement moved the protesters past the Temple Street Bridge, where a large crowd remained. (Jake Crandall | The Corsair) A protester and veteran who was shot with a pepper ball in his chest stands in between a crowd of demonstrators and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officers in downtown Los Angeles, Calif., on Saturday,... A dispersal order was issued in front of the Federal Building, where law enforcement moved the protesters past the Temple Street Bridge, where a large crowd remained. (Jake Crandall | The Corsair) A protester shot in the back of the head with a less-than-lethal round by law enforcement receives medical care while being interviewed by a Univision reporter in downtown Los Angeles, Calif., on Saturday, June...

(Jake Crandall | The Corsair) As protesters against federal immigration raids have clashed in recent days with law enforcement, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Central Division sent out a warning: “Less Lethal munitions have been authorized,” officials wrote on X, ordering crowds in Downtown Los Angeles to disperse. “Less lethal munitions may cause pain and discomfort.” Police have used a standard variety of tools to disperse crowds and quell protests that had devolved into violence, with protesters lighting self-driving cars on fire and two motorcyclists driving into a skirmish line... A Molotov cocktail was also thrown at officers, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell alleged, condemning the “disgusting” violence.

Authorities have responded with force. So far, CNN has documented the deployment of flash-bangs, tear gas, pepper balls, rubber bullets and bean bag rounds, as well as more traditional gear such as batons. These weapons – often described as “less lethal,” “less-than-lethal” or “non-lethal” – are those “explicitly designed and primarily employed to incapacitate … while minimizing fatalities, permanent injury to personnel, and undesired damage to property,... What U.S. police are using to corral, subdue and disperse demonstrators A police officer aims a weapon amid smoke during a protest against federal immigration sweeps in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S.

June 8, 2025. A police officer aims a weapon amid smoke during a protest against federal immigration sweeps in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake Law enforcement officials in Los Angeles began deploying “less lethal” munitions on June 8 as they clashed with crowds protesting federal immigration raids. “Less lethal” or “less-than-lethal” weapons are designed to cause pain and discomfort, normally to disperse hostile crowds, but have caused serious injury and death in the past.

Bridgette Covelli arrived near Los Angeles City Hall for the June 14 “No Kings Day” festivities to find what she described as a peaceful scene: people chanting, dancing, holding signs. No one was arguing with the police, as far as she could tell. Enforcement of the city’s curfew wouldn’t begin for hours. But seemingly out of nowhere, Covelli said, officers began to fire rubber bullets and launch smoke bombs into a nearby crowd, which had gathered to protest the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement campaign. Covelli, 23, grabbed an electric bike and turned up 3rd Street, where another line of police blocked parts of the roadway. Deciding to head home, she turned to leave and had made it about two blocks when she felt a shock of pain in her arm as she fell from the bike and crashed to...

In a daze, she realized she was bleeding after being struck by a hard-foam projectile shot by an unidentified LAPD officer. They kept firing even as she lay on the ground, she said. “No dispersal order. Nothing at all,” she said. “We were doing everything right. There was no aggression toward them.”

More than 2,000 "No Kings Day" protests were held on Saturday, organizers said. Saturday marked the first full day of Marines on duty in Los Angeles, one week after protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids ignited in LA and spread to other cities across the U.S.,... Meanwhile, more than 2,000 "No Kings Day" protests were held across the U.S. on Saturday to protest the Trump administration and to counterprogram the military parade in Washington, D.C., organizers said. More than 5 million people participated, according to organizers. As demonstrations continue in Los Angeles and spread to other cities across California and the nation, watch the video for a timeline on how the conflict has unfolded.

The Los Angeles Police Department issued a dispersal order at around 3:48 p.m. for demonstrators located on Alameda south of Aliso and north of Temple. What happened: Two state laws passed in response to law enforcement actions during the 2020 George Floyd protests restrict the use of crowd dispersal weapons including tear gas, foam rounds and rubber bullets. The laws also forbid police from interfering with journalists covering protests. LAist reporters witnessed LAPD officers firing less-lethal munitions into crowds and at protestors running away from police on Sunday outside the federal building in downtown Los Angeles. Social media and TV newscasts also show what appear to be indiscriminate use of tear gas and less-lethal munitions such as condensed foam rounds against large crowds and peaceful protestors by LAPD officers.

Civil rights attorneys told LAist these actions appear to have violated these laws and should be investigated. LAPD says it will investigate: A member of the LAPD Professional Standards Bureau and a spokesperson for the Office of Inspector General said they will investigate complaints against officers filed in response to the... Members of the Los Angeles Police Department appear to have violated California law and a federal court order with their use of crowd control weapons during protests, civil rights attorneys told LAist.

Officers Issue Dispersal Order And Rush At Crowd Firing Less Lethal

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