USC freshman Tucker Collins was taking photos at a March 28 “No Kings” protest in Downtown Los Angeles when a projectile allegedly fired by a Department of Homeland Security officer hit him in his right eye, which had to be surgically removed. 

“Next thing I know, I can’t see anymore. I’m on the ground, screaming and writhing in agony, and I can barely process what’s going on, because I had no warning,” said Collins, who is majoring in astronautical engineering. “There was no indication. No one was throwing anything, they were behind a fence. I was 30 feet away, behind a fence.”

Collins has now filed a claim against DHS for $100 million, according to a Federal Tort Claim obtained by the Daily Trojan. The document alleges that DHS, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as other federal agencies, engaged in “tortious conduct” that caused assault, battery and violated the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act. This act authorizes lawsuits against anyone, including government officials, who have used threats, intimidation or coercion to interfere with the rights outlined in the Constitution.

Collins said the goal of the lawsuit is to call attention to the violence DHS and other law enforcement bodies commit against protesters, as many people have been killed by law enforcement and have been unable to tell their story.

“I’m lucky that I can [tell this story] and I want to be able to make sure people know,” Collins said. “I think one of the greatest problems facing our nation right now is [that] we have a militarized force that’s just being used to brutalize and terrorize people.”

The claim was filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows those injured by the wrongful or neglectful act of a federal officer, who was acting within the scope of their duties, to seek reimbursement from the government. DHS has six months to respond. 

In the case that the department rejects the claim or does not respond in six months, Collins’ legal team has six months to file a lawsuit, which it intends to do, according to Emma Gary, one of Collins’ attorneys. 

“It might be a while until we get to trial,” Gary said. “This may be a long road, but Tucker has been incredibly resilient, and I’m very impressed with the reasons he wants to make this stand.”

DHS didn’t directly address Collins in a statement to ABC7, but said that it “used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property.” 

DHS also said that seven warnings were issued prior to their use of force. Collins told the Daily Trojan he heard no warnings.

“I heard no dispersal orders,” Collins said. “Any dispersal order that I know of was said after I was shot.”

Collins said that he disagrees that DHS used minimum force since he was hit in the head, which he said implied they were aiming at head level and using high- impact weapons, which resulted in him losing his eye. 

In March, district judge Michael Simon issued a preliminary injunction limiting federal agent’s’ use of less-lethal projectiles against protestors. The injunction prohibited agents from aiming projectiles at protesters’ heads unless deadly force was justified.   

In its statement, DHS also stated to ABC7 that while it respects the right to speech and peaceful assembly, it took actions to “uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters.”

Collins said he would not describe the protest as a riot. The only difference between the peaceful protest at L.A. City Hall and the one at the Metropolitan Detention Center, he said, was that people were shouting and hitting the fence that was separating DHS from the protestors, which was placed by Caltrans in anticipation of the crowds. 

In the evening, protestors began yelling at DHS agents outside the Federal Detention Center and banging on the fence. Federal officers claimed that protesters were throwing rocks, bottles, and concrete at them, leading to the declaration of an unlawful assembly and the use of tear gas.

“These DHS officers instigated a lot of the conflict that happened that night, because a lot of these flare-ups happened when they started shooting, or when they spray[ed] people with mace, and then that leads to more of this conflict,” Collins said. “And then they can use that as a justification for what they were doing before to instigate what they call a riot.”