Grandmother Hit by Projectile at La Mesa Protest Wants PD to ID Officer Who Shot Her

A woman who was hospitalized after being shot with an anti-crowd projectile during a protest last month in La Mesa has filed court papers seeking to force the La Mesa Police Department to release the involved officer's name.

The petition asks that a San Diego Superior Court judge order the city of La Mesa and the police department to produce the name of the officer who fired the projectile at 59-year-old Leslie Furcron on the night of May
30.

The department has not released the officer's name, though La Mesa police Chief Walt Vasquez issued a statement earlier this month assuring Furcron, "her family and the public that this unfortunate incident will be fully investigated, to include an in-depth look at our crowd control practices.''

Leslie Furcron addressed the public for the first time since being shot with a bean bag round by La Mesa police.

The city and police department could not immediately be reached for comment on the petition filed Friday.

Furcron was outside LMPD headquarters with a crowd of fellow protesters demonstrating for equality and against police brutality when she was struck in the forehead by what her attorney, Dante Pride, described as a "flying blackjack'' and a "metal projectile bean bag,'' leaving her hospitalized in an intensive-care unit in a medically induced coma.

The petition states that Furcron suffered "multiple facial fractures,'' has not yet regained sight in her left eye, and "will face a lifetime of recovery from the injuries.''

NBC 7's Niala Charles explained how a peaceful protests turned aggressive in La Mesa Saturday night.

The petition alleges the La Mesa Police Department declined to disclose records that included the officer's name following a California Public Records Act request from Furcron's attorneys, citing an ongoing investigation and findings that releasing the name could endanger the officer's safety.

The petitioner argues that courts have held that releasing officer names in such instances "is in the best interest of justice.'' It also states that Furcron's "right to pursue justice for the violence committed against her'' outweighs the officer's fears and that the department has not provided "any evidence of threats from the public to corroborate the officer's fears.''

Pride and Furcron's family have publicly stated that they want the officer to be identified, fired and criminally charged.

Leslie Furcron, 59, made her first public statement on June 10, 2020, since being released from the hospital for injuries suffered when La Mesa police shot her with a bean bag round at a protest.