Robbery suspect dies after being shot with ‘less-lethal’ LAPD projectile

A man died after Los Angeles police officers shot him with a hard foam projectile during an attempted robbery of a convenience store in San Pedro, officials said.

The Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release Thursday that Roger John Nielsen, 34, was taken to a hospital after the encounter with officers from the Harbor Division and was later pronounced dead.

The police version of events said officers were summoned about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday to a robbery call in the 700 block of West Channel Street, where they found Nielsen vandalizing the store.

Officers reported that as they called out to Nielsen, he picked up a piece of plexiglass from a sign he had damaged, prompting at least one of them to shoot him in the upper torso with a 40-millimeter less-lethal launcher.

“After additional attempts to gain compliance were unsuccessful, officers approached Nielsen, who quickly placed himself on the ground, face down,” the LAPD said.

Officers used additional force when arresting Nielsen, the release said without offering further details. One officer suffered a dislocated finger during the incident.

An LAPD spokesperson did not respond to follow-up questions about Nielsen’s cause of death. His name is not listed on the Los Angeles medical examiner’s website.

The use of so-called less-lethal projectile launchers and other weapons designed to subdue rather than kill has come under renewed scrutiny after police often turned to them during recent protests against federal immigration enforcement.

Last week, a federal judge extended restrictions that prohibit federal Homeland Security agents and LAPD officers from using less-lethal weapons against peaceful protesters and journalists.

The LAPD uses 40-millimeter projectile launchers far more often than other big-city agencies for day-to-day operations. In 2024, officers fired the weapons on at least 195 occasions, up from recent years, according to the department’s annual use-of-force report.

The devices shoot a hunk of harm foam roughly the size of a small soda can at more than 200 mph. The rounds are designed to spread the force of impact over a larger area, without penetrating the skin.

Police officials have long argued that the launchers are a useful tool to help subdue uncooperative suspects without officers having to go hands on or use lethal force.

But critics say referring to them as “less lethal” is misleading, considering how their use has resulted in other deaths in some cities, along with millions of dollars in settlements to people who sued after they were seriously injured from being hit in the head or groin.