A man has reached a tentative settlement in his lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles in which he alleges he was wrongfully shot in one leg with a projectile by police officers while protesting the displacement of homeless people at Echo Park Lake for repairs in 2021.
Ethan Bochicchio’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleged violation of his civil rights, battery, false imprisonment and negligence. His attorneys filed a notice of settlement with Judge Peter A. Hernandez notifying him of a “conditional” accord with the expectation a request for dismissal will be filed by Dec. 31, 2026.
No terms were revealed and it was not immediately clear if the settlement is subject to final approval by the City Council.
In previous court papers, the City Attorney’s Office denied Bochicchio’s allegations and cited multiple defenses, including immunity and that any acts that may have happened on the Los Angeles Police Departmenty’s part were taken in good faith and without malice.
According to the suit, Bochicchio was at Echo Park Lake between 9:45 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. March 24, 2021, “exercising his right to peacefully protest against the removal of displaced and unhoused people.”
Bochicchio was unarmed and posed no threat to officers who formed a skirmish line, the suit stated. He was standing near the front of the protesters when “suddenly, and without warning, the … police officers began assaulting and battering a female protester who Mr. Bochicchio met earlier that evening,” according to the complaint filed in January 2022.
When Bochicchio tried to stand next to the female protester, the police officers shoved him with a baton and pushed him face-down to the ground, the suit stated. An officer then shot him in one leg with a projectile, the suit stated.
Bochicchio “writhed in pain” as others tried to help him leave, but the blockade formed by the officers prevented him from doing so, according to the suit.
After the blockade ended, people helped Bochicchio to his car and he was able to leave, the suit stated.
“The police officers who fired at Mr. Bochicchio had absolutely no reason to believe that (he) was armed, dangerous or creating a serious threat to anyone’s safety so as to justify any use of force, let alone less-than-lethal force,” the suit alleged.
Bochicchio alleges the LAPD failed to properly train the officers on when non-lethal projectiles can be used against protesters. Bochicchio obtained care from medical doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists and has incurred medical bills and expenses, the suit stated.