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 LAPD said in a news release Thursday that Roger John Nielsen, 34, was taken to an area hospital after the encounter with officers from the Harbor Division, and later pronounced dead."

"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 40mm 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."

"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 turned to them often 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 40mm 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,"

Roger John Nielsen, 34, was shot by Los Angeles police with a hard-foam 40mm less-lethal projectile during an attempted convenience-store robbery in San Pedro. Officers responded about 2:30 a.m. to a vandalism report and said Nielsen picked up a piece of Plexiglass from a damaged sign, prompting at least one officer to fire at his upper torso. After additional attempts to gain compliance failed, officers said Nielsen placed himself face down and officers used further force during the arrest. Nielsen was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead. The LAPD did not provide a cause of death. Use of 40mm launchers has drawn scrutiny; in 2024 the LAPD fired them at least 195 times.

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