Three prominent activists have filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department, claiming an LAPD officer shot them with a foam round without provocation during a protest over the summer.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleges that Officer Rick Linton used excessive force against community activist Jason Ready and civil rights attorneys Ricky Sergienko and Shakir Rahman outside LAPD headquarters on the night of June 9, 2025.
Parts of the incident were captured on various live streams broadcast by the plaintiffs and other viewers. The video shows three men approach Linton, who is standing on a raised platform outside the LAPD auditorium, located at 100 W. Adjacent to the main police building on 1st St.
The three men said they were taking part in a demonstration that was slowly moving through the city when they saw the officer pointing his 40mm less lethal launcher at the crowd. After the trio crossed the street and Linton began recording, the video shows the officer firing a foam round at Ready as he raised his hands in the air, hitting him in the waist. He also reportedly fired another shot which hit Sergiyenko in the stomach.
When Rahman confronted the officer and demanded to know his name and badge number, Linton allegedly responded by warning him to leave and threatening to “pop you right now because you’re getting my attention.” When Rahman persisted, the officer, who was pacing back and forth on the stage, said, “This is going to hurt.”
Moments later, the video shows the officer raising his weapon over the glass partition that separated them and firing two foam rounds at Rehman, nearly hitting him in the back.
Rally at Gloria Molina Grand Park in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
The Los Angeles city attorney’s office, which defends the LAPD in most civil lawsuits, generally does not comment on pending litigation as a matter of policy. An email sent to its spokesperson was not returned; Linton also did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent to his department’s email account.
The lawsuit – which accuses police of violating the men’s civil rights, using excessive force and intentionally causing emotional distress – says bystanders failed to intervene.
Reedy, a widely recognized LAPD critic who has confronted police and city officials in public forums, said the incident was another example of the uncontrolled use of 40 mm weapons, which launch projectiles the size of mini soda cans at speeds of more than 200 mph.
“We’re expecting him to be fired,” Reedy said of the officer in question. “We’ve seen the LAPD do whatever they want at this point under Jim McDonnell and not really face any kind of accountability.”
The LAPD’s crowd-control tactics have been under scrutiny for decades, and have been the subject of criticism since the Trump administration launched aggressive immigration raids in Los Angeles over the summer. During protests in the city last year, officers were shown on video violating department policy, trampling protesters on horseback and aiming so-called less-lethal launchers at people’s heads.
according to a report Posted on the department’s website, LAPD officers fired approximately 1,400 less-lethal rounds over a six-day period beginning June 9; They also deployed tear gas.
Officers responded with force after members of the crowd threw rocks, bottles, fireworks and Molotov cocktails at police and burned several vehicles, police officials reported. Police issued several dispersal orders, including deploying tear gas, before giving permission to use force.
Authorities have promised a thorough investigation of all uses of force.
The department stopped using the launchers after a federal judge issued an injunction in January, but has deployed other types of crowd control weapons at subsequent protests. The judge ruled that officers had repeatedly violated previous court orders that allow weapons to be used only to subdue protesters who pose a threat of violence.
Recently, an appeals court largely upheld the earlier decision.
At Tuesday’s Police Commission meeting, the public comment round was filled with speakers who accused the department of ignoring the court order and continuing to target members of the news media and nonviolent protesters.
