Santa Ana, California — A 21-year-old college student said his life has been permanently altered after he was struck in the face by a projectile fired by a federal officer during a protest against immigration enforcement in Southern California earlier this month.
Kaden Rummler said he was hit at close range during a Jan. 9 demonstration outside a federal immigration building in Santa Ana, where protesters had gathered following the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis. Rummler said he was rushed into a six-hour emergency surgery on his left eye and is now blind in that eye, leaving him without depth perception and unable to drive. His attorney said fragments of metal and plastic remain lodged in his skull.
A second protester, Britain Rodriguez, told the Los Angeles Times that he was also blinded in one eye by a projectile fired by federal agents during the same protest. Video from the scene shows officers in riot gear advancing on demonstrators and firing crowd-control munitions as protesters shouted and moved forward.
The Department of Homeland Security declined to specify what type of projectile was used. A DHS spokesperson said protesters were violent and claimed Rummler’s injuries were exaggerated, while confirming he was the demonstrator taken to the hospital.
Rummler has been charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and is considering legal action. His attorney said doctors are seeking information about whether the projectile materials could be toxic. Experts have called for an independent investigation, questioning the use of such force at close range during crowd control.
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