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Not the way they used to. Under California law, police and other law enforcement agencies can only use rubber bullets, foam rounds, and other kinetic impact projectiles during protests in narrow situations involving an objectively reasonable response to a real threat. Aiming at crowds, at people's heads, or at peaceful protesters is not legal, and officers who cross those lines can be held accountable in a civil rights lawsuit.
The summer of 2020 changed everything in California. After the killing of George Floyd, people marching in Los Angeles, Oakland, and right here in Inglewood went home with broken jaws, lost eyes, and head injuries that should never have happened at a protest. The footage was everywhere. The lawsuits followed. So did the new law.
The most urgent thing to know is this. If you were hit by a rubber bullet, foam round, beanbag round, or any other kinetic impact projectile at a California protest, you may have a civil rights claim against the officers and the law enforcement agency that fired it. The deadlines are short. California state law claims require a government tort claim within six months. Federal claims under Section 1983 generally allow two years.
This post breaks down what California law actually says about rubber bullets at protests, when officers cross the line, and what to do if you were hit.
California law uses the term "kinetic energy projectile" to cover the full category. That includes rubber bullets, foam rounds, beanbag rounds, sponge rounds, wooden dowels, pepper balls, and any other kinetic impact projectile fired from a launcher or shotgun for crowd control. The brand names change. The legal rules don't.
These are not soft toys. A 40mm foam round fired at close range carries enough force to fracture a skull, blind an eye, or kill. That's why the law treats every rubber bullet as a serious use of force, not a "less lethal" alternative that officers can use freely.
The same rules also cover chemical agents like tear gas, pepper spray, and other chemical irritants when used for crowd control. Whether the weapon is a rubber bullet or a canister of tear gas, AB 48 limits when and how it can be used.
California AB 48 took effect on January 1, 2022, and changed the rules for every law enforcement agency in the state. The law was passed directly in response to what happened during the 2020 George Floyd protests, when officers across California fired rubber bullets and tear gas into crowds with little restraint.
Under AB 48, police and other law enforcement agencies can only use kinetic energy projectiles or chemical agents like tear gas to disperse a crowd or assembly when objectively reasonable to defend against a threat to life or serious bodily injury. Officers must follow specific limits before any rubber bullet is fired.
Every agency that violates these rules opens itself up to a civil rights lawsuit. So does every officer who pulls the trigger.
The legal question comes down to whether the force was objectively reasonable under the Fourth Amendment and California law. That sounds vague. In practice, courts and juries look at specific things.
Was the protester actually a threat at that moment? Was the officer aiming at a person, or shooting rubber bullets into a crowd? Were warnings given? Did the protester have time to leave? Was the rubber bullet fired at the head, face, or chest? Did the officer fire from too close a distance, where the round becomes far more dangerous?
When the answers point toward an officer who fired rubber bullets without a real threat, without warnings, or at the wrong part of the body, the force is excessive. That's a Fourth Amendment violation, and it's the foundation of a civil rights lawsuit. A federal judge can also strike down agency policies that authorize this kind of force, which has happened in several California cases since 2020.
The phrase "less lethal weapon" hides a lot. Rubber bullets and foam rounds cause serious, sometimes permanent injuries. Our civil rights lawyers in Inglewood have seen the medical records.
Head and facial injuries are the most common. Skull fractures, jaw fractures, broken teeth, and traumatic brain injuries happen regularly when officers fire rubber bullets at people's heads. Eye injuries are devastating. Multiple protesters in Los Angeles have lost an eye to a single rubber bullet. Once that vision is gone, it doesn't come back.
Chest and abdominal strikes can rupture organs, fracture ribs, or cause internal bleeding. Strikes to the throat can crush the airway. Strikes to the groin can cause lasting damage. Even hits to arms and legs at close range can break bones. Foam rounds and pepper balls have caused the same kinds of injuries when fired at the wrong distance or the wrong part of the body.
The medical bills add up fast. Surgery, hospital stays, rehabilitation, and long-term care all become part of a civil rights claim when the force was excessive.
Yes, in most cases. A person hit by a rubber bullet at a California protest may have several overlapping claims.
A Section 1983 federal civil rights claim against the individual officers is the core of most cases. That claim is built on the Fourth Amendment, which protects against excessive force. A First Amendment retaliation claim may apply when officers targeted protesters because of their speech, the signs they were carrying, or their decision to record police. A Monell claim against the city or agency may apply when the violation came from a policy, a training failure, or a custom of using rubber bullets at protests in unlawful ways.
California state law claims can run alongside the federal claims. Battery, negligence, violations of the Bane Act, and violations of the Ralph Act all may apply depending on the facts. The Bane Act in particular is a powerful tool because it allows recovery when officers interfere with constitutional rights through threats, intimidation, or coercion.
Police agencies will raise qualified immunity in nearly every case. Defeating qualified immunity takes careful legal work, the right facts, and evidence that the officer's conduct violated clearly established law. AB 48 strengthens that argument significantly for any incident after January 1, 2022.
A civil rights lawsuit involving rubber bullets allows recovery across several categories.
Economic damages cover the bills. Medical bills, future medical care, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and any property damaged in the incident all fall here. For people who lost an eye or suffered a brain injury after being hit by rubber bullets, the lifetime cost can be substantial.
Non-economic damages cover the harm that doesn't come with a receipt. Pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and the trauma of being shot while exercising a constitutional right are all compensable.
Punitive damages may apply when an officer acted with malice or reckless disregard for protesters' civil rights. Punitive damages come out of the officer's pocket, not the city's, which is why they matter in cases involving outrageous conduct.
Attorney's fees can also be recovered under federal civil rights law when the case succeeds. That keeps the recovery in the hands of the person who was injured.
The first hours after a protest injury shape the rest of the case. A few steps matter more than the rest.
No. AB 48 makes clear that rubber bullets and other kinetic impact projectiles cannot be used to disperse a peaceful assembly. They cannot be used in response to speech alone. They cannot be used against people who are sitting, standing, chanting, or marching without posing a real threat of serious harm.
Officers sometimes claim a crowd became "unlawful" after a small group threw bottles or after a single window was broken. That claim doesn't authorize blanket force against everyone present. Each individual hit by a rubber bullet must have posed a real threat at the moment they were shot. Mass firings of rubber bullets and tear gas into peaceful crowds are exactly what AB 48 was written to stop.
Yes, but only in narrow situations. Under AB 48, rubber bullets and other kinetic impact projectiles can only be used when objectively reasonable to respond to a threat of death or serious bodily injury, and only after warnings, opportunity to disperse, and de-escalation efforts when feasible. They cannot be fired at heads or vital organs, and they cannot be used against peaceful protesters.
Yes. The fact that an officer claims they were aiming somewhere else does not eliminate liability. Firing rubber bullets into a crowd without targeting a specific threat is the exact conduct AB 48 prohibits. "I didn't mean to hit you" is not a legal defense when the round should never have been fired in the first place.
Protests in the Los Angeles area often involve multiple law enforcement agencies, including Inglewood PD, the Los Angeles Police Department, the LA County Sheriff's Department, and the California Highway Patrol. Identifying which agency and which officer fired the rubber bullet matters because each has its own claim deadline and its own insurance. A civil rights attorney can help track that down.
Sometimes, but not as often after AB 48. Qualified immunity protects officers only when their conduct didn't violate clearly established law. AB 48, combined with post-2020 federal court rulings on protest force, makes the law in this area much clearer than it used to be. Many rubber bullet cases survive qualified immunity challenges that would have failed a decade ago.
Federal Section 1983 claims have a two-year statute of limitations in California. State law claims against any government agency or officer require a government tort claim within six months. Miss either deadline and your options narrow fast. The earlier you contact a civil rights attorney in Inglewood, the better.
You may have multiple overlapping civil rights claims, including false arrest, excessive force, and First Amendment retaliation. Arrests at protests are frequently used to silence protesters rather than to address real crimes. A false arrest tied to a protest can carry significant damages on its own.
Being shot with a rubber bullet at a protest is a civil rights violation, not just an injury. Our civil rights lawyers in Inglewood at Justin Palmer Law Group hold police accountable when they cross the line. Call today for a free consultation before your filing deadlines run out.
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