Roybal federal building in Downtown Los Angeles, Oct. 18, 2025. (Luke Harold)
More than 100 journalists, protesters and bystanders filed legal claims against the city of Los Angeles in the aftermath of last year’s protests against federal immigration enforcement, and there have been more than 60 lawsuits so far, according to these spreadsheets I received in response to a public records request.
Most of those cases are pending, so we’ll have to wait and see how much money these cases add to the city’s protest-related tab.
Claims are usually a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit against a government agency. The city can resolve the claim by paying the amount the claimant is asking for, or a lower amount that the claimant is willing to accept. Or, more commonly, the claim gets denied, in which case the only way forward is for the claimant to sue.
Some of the highlights:
1. Three legal claims, all from June 2025, were paid out by the city before they ended up in court:
$1,322 to one claimant who said LAPD failed to secure his bicycle, which went missing, after arresting him and multiple others during the initial week of protests.
$1,000 to a driver who happened to be near 3rd and Broadway in Downtown L.A. during a protest when he heard a loud bang against his car and later noticed a dent. It’s unclear what caused the bang or the dent.
$862 to another driver who also said he happened to be driving through Downtown L.A. and got stuck between protesters and police horses. An LAPD officer broke his car’s back window.
$3,184 total.
2. 49 of the legal claims were already involved in litigation before the city received them or could make a determination on them. Usually the government agency’s decision on the claim, and any negotiation between the two sides, precedes the courthouse.
Also worth noting that this data is only possible because the Los Angeles city attorney’s office has been promptly responding to records requests. We don’t have a clear picture of what’s happening at the county level, particularly how many legal claims there are against the Sheriff’s Department, because L.A. county counsel has been releasing records at a much slower rate.
The specific cases mentioned below are from one of the multiple June 2025 protests in Downtown Los Angeles:
3. Kelsey McMurtry filed claims against both LAPD and the sheriff alleging that police struck her with rubber bullets, batons and trampled her with their horses near Los Angeles City Hall. (The New York Times put together this video breakdown.) McMurtry’s lawsuit against the city and county is pending in Superior Court.
4. A clip of an LAPD officer walking up behind Australian TV reporter Lauren Tomasi and shooting her in the leg with a less-lethal projectile went viral last year. She filed a federal lawsuit that says she’s experienced “severe emotional distress as well as great bodily injury to her leg,” including a referral to physical therapy.
5. A registered nurse filed a lawsuit against the city in Superior Court after LAPD allegedly shot him in the leg with a rubber bullet while he was trying to set up an area to treat others who were injured. He was bleeding profusely and required emergency medical treatment, according to the initial claim form.
6. Another claimant said an LAPD officer fired a rubber bullet that struck him in the head, causing profuse bleeding, and then officers allegedly delayed medical treatment. The lawsuit is pending in Superior Court.
7. The city is working on a settlement in a Superior Court case filed by a claimant who said LAPD fired a rubber bullet that struck him in the side of the head, requiring three days of hospitalization because of neurological symptoms such as slurred speech.
8. The city also reached a settlement with David James Healey, 82 years old at the time, a photographer who said that he suffered a broken rib and other injuries after LAPD officers trampled him on horseback.
The spreadsheets don’t mention the settlement amounts, which are public record, but I will follow up at a later date with a more thorough accounting of the settlement amounts and amounts that are awarded in any cases that go to trial as more of them are resolved.
9. At least 40 claims were rejected by the city for reasons including “claim info insufficient,” “straight denial,” and the city saying it was “not responsible for alleged damages,” but so far at least several of those claimants have sued.
10. At least 30 other claims are pending at the city level.