DALLAS — Five people have filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer and seller of so-called less-lethal weapons police used during 2020 protests in downtown Dallas, arguing that the weapons are more dangerous than advertised.
Vincent Doyle, David McKee, Randi Rogers, Brandon Saenz and Tasia Williams are seeking more than $1 million in their lawsuit against Combined Systems and Penn Arms, which was filed May 31 in Dallas County.
Combined Systems is the manufacturer of 40 mm launchers — weapons used to shoot rubber or sponge bullets — and Penn Arms is a division of the company that sells the launchers.
The lawsuit alleges that Combined Systems knew the launchers sold to Dallas police posed an “unreasonable and egregious risk of physical injury.” The lawsuit also blames Combined Systems and Penn Arms for marketing and promoting them as “less than lethal.”
“The 40 mm launcher has been marketed to police departments as less-lethal,” Daryl Washington, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said Tuesday. “We believe that it is anything but less-lethal.”
Combined Systems did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Doyle, McKee, Rogers, Saenz and Williams were seriously injured from May 30 to June 1, 2020, during protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. Doyle’s cheekbone was shattered, Saenz lost his left eye and McKee suffered injuries to his groin area, the lawsuit says, while Rogers suffered a head injury and Williams had a leg wound.
Several of the plaintiffs also have sued the city of Dallas, former police Chief U. Renee Hall and the Dallas Police Department for the injuries they sustained.
Dallas police Senior Cpl. Ryan Mabry, former Dallas police Senior Cpl. Melvin Williams and Garland police Officer Joe Privitt face aggravated assault charges in connection with McKee’s injuries. Mabry faces charges of aggravated assault, deadly conduct and official oppression in a case involving Saenz, and Williams is charged with misdemeanor assault and official oppression in the shooting of Doyle.
Protests erupted nationwide after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed in Minneapolis when a police officer kneeled on his neck. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of murder and manslaughter last year and sentenced to 221/2 years in prison.
In Dallas, thousands of people marched to protest police brutality for more than 100 days. Some of the protests became violent, and Dallas police used rubber or sponge bullets and tear gas to control crowds.
The lawsuit says the use of rubber and sponge bullets against demonstrators across the country has resulted in injuries similar to those of the Dallas plaintiffs. Court documents reference a photographer in Minneapolis who was blinded in her left eye when she was struck by a rubber bullet.
Four of the plaintiffs were downtown on May 30, 2020, when they were injured, according to the lawsuit.
Doyle, who was taking photos, was shot in the face with a rubber bullet by a police officer using a launcher, court documents say. The injury left him with 40% of his vision in his left eye and smashed his cheekbone, according to the lawsuit.
Saenz was walking from a dog park when he was shot in the eye with a sponge or rubber bullet, the lawsuit says. He lost his left eye, suffered at least two badly chipped teeth and had to have 27 staples in his head, the lawsuit says.
Rogers was observing the protests when a police officer fired at her using a launcher, the lawsuit says. It’s unclear what was fired at her, but she suffered a wound to her head.
McKee was with a friend to document the protests and was helping protesters who had been sprayed with tear gas. While he was backing up from officers, McKee was shot at least twice by two officers using launchers, once in the bicep and once in the groin area, the lawsuit says, and he needed surgery on his left testicle.
The lawsuit also mentions a protest on June 1, 2020, that resulted in mass arrests of protesters on Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. Dallas police used a tactic called “kettling” by boxing protesters on the bridge and preventing them from leaving, and the lawsuit says police also used launchers against demonstrators that night.
Tasia Williams, who was on the bridge, was hit in the thigh by a rubber or sponge bullet and was left “bleeding and in pain” for hours without medical attention, according to court documents. The lawsuit alleges that the city of Dallas has withheld the identity of the officer who shot Williams.
Doyle, McKee and Saenz were listed as plaintiffs in the original petition filed May 31. Washington said Tuesday that the petition was amended to reflect that Rogers and Williams are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The bullets fired by the launchers, known as kinetic impact projectiles or KIPs, have been praised by police as “nonlethal” or “less-lethal” when they are not, the lawsuit alleges. Some bullets are made of hard foam or plastic that have a rigid or metal core, court documents say.
According to the lawsuit, the projectiles kill about 3% of the people they strike.
The lawsuit alleges that the sponge and rubber bullets Dallas police used throughout the protests were deadly.
According to the lawsuit, KIPs used at close range can break bones, fracture skulls and cause permanent damage and disability. The lawsuit also argues that the rubber and sponge bullets are not appropriate for crowd management.
The five plaintiffs have all suffered harm as a result of the “deception” of Combined Systems and Penn Arms, the lawsuit alleges.
Washington said Tuesday that his clients are still recovering physically and emotionally from the injuries they suffered two years ago.
“I don’t know if you can ever recover from having an eye surgically removed or having staples in your head,” Washington said. “Those are things that you can’t recover from.”
