A federal jury in Los Angeles has ordered the city to pay $11.8 million to Isaac Castellanos, a former college student and competitive gamer who was blinded in one eye by a police projectile during a 2020 World Series celebration.
The verdict, delivered Tuesday after only two hours of deliberation, found that Los Angeles Police Department officers used excessive force and acted with negligence when they fired into a crowd of fans.
The incident occurred on October 27, 2020, as Castellanos was celebrating the Dodgers’ championship victory in downtown Los Angeles. According to court testimony, LAPD officers deployed a 37mm kinetic impact round—often referred to as a “less-lethal” rubber bullet—which struck Castellanos in the face.
Evidence presented during the six-day trial showed the round was fired from about 145 feet away, hitting the then 22-year-old at head level. Safety protocols generally require these munitions to be aimed at the lower body to avoid life-altering injuries.
READ: Prosecutors Seek Death For Woman In Hillsborough And Manatee Ex-Lovers’ Slayings
The impact caused severe blunt-force trauma, resulting in permanent vision loss and a total loss of depth perception. Attorneys for Castellanos, Monique Alarcon and Pedram Esfandiary of the firm Wisner Baum, argued that the injury effectively ended his aspirations in the esports industry.
“This is not just a verdict, it’s a warning,” said Esfandiary following the decision. “Law enforcement cannot fire weapons into crowds and hide behind the label ‘less-lethal’. When improperly used, these weapons can cause serious injury and even death.”
The jury’s decision found that the LAPD violated Castellanos’ constitutional rights and California’s Bane Act. This award adds to a growing total of taxpayer-funded payouts related to the department’s crowd-control tactics. Since 2020, Los Angeles has paid out more than $19 million for similar incidents, with at least seven other cases resulting in settlements or verdicts exceeding $1 million.
“Calling these weapons ‘less-lethal’ is dangerously misleading,” Alarcon stated. “Isaac’s injury is permanent. His life is permanently altered. That is not ‘less’ anything.”
READ: The SEC’s 50-Year Silence: Supreme Court Asked To Break Federal ‘Gag Rule’
While the $11.8 million award may be subject to appeal by the city, legal experts suggest the size of the verdict reflects a shifting public sentiment regarding militarized policing. Multiple lawsuits involving similar claims of permanent blindness and head injuries from LAPD munitions are still pending in the court system.
“No one should fear losing their eyesight, or their life, for exercising their constitutional rights or simply being present in a public crowd,” Alarcon added.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox
