Tomasi v. City of Los Angeles

Case Number: 2:26-cv-06184

Court: U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Client: Lauren Tomasi

Background: In early June 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement led a series of immigration enforcement raids that sparked protests in downtown Los Angeles. Lauren Tomasi, a U.S.-based reporter for Australian news network Channel Nine, covered the protests over the span of several days.

On June 8, 2025, Tomasi set out on her third day of covering the protests. That evening, she and her cameraman set up about 10 yards in front of a line of Los Angeles Police Department officers who recently cleared the nearby road intersection. At that point, LAPD had stopped pushing protesters from the area, protesters had calmed, and other members of the press stood nearby. 

With her back to the LAPD officers, Tomasi and her cameraman began to film a news report that was being fed live to the studio in Australia. Then, without any warning or provocation from Tomasi, an LAPD officer behind her pointed his weapon directly at her and fired a projectile that struck her in the leg. The entire event was captured on video, broadcast, and sparked outrage across the world. 

In addition to the physical injury to her leg, Tomasi experienced significant emotional distress as a result of the shooting.

In June 2026, on behalf of Tomasi, attorneys from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the law firm Jassy Vick Carolan LLP filed this federal lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles and the LAPD officer who shot Tomasi, alleging that the LAPD targeted and deliberately retaliated against Tomasi for exercising her constitutional right to report on newsworthy events in a public forum. 

The lawsuit argues that Tomasi’s injury was caused by LAPD’s custom and practice of intentionally targeting reporters with excessive force. It asks the court to rule that the city and LAPD officer violated Tomasi’s rights under the U.S. Constitution, the California Constitution, and state law, and to award Tomasi damages and attorneys’ fees.  

Quote: “Journalists must be able to do their job,” Tomasi said. “A free and independent press is a cornerstone of democracy. I deeply believe in the role and responsibility of journalists to report the truth, even in difficult environments, but no one should face harm or intimidation for doing their job.”

Co-counsel: Jassy Vick Carolan LLP

Related: The Reporters Committee has urged federal, state, and local officials to ensure that authorities responding to anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles and elsewhere are properly trained on journalists’ right to report on law enforcement activity. Last year, shortly after Tomasi was shot by police, the Reporters Committee led a coalition of 60 news and press freedom organizations in expressing concern about “multiple reports of journalists being injured and detained while covering the protests in Los Angeles, including reports of possible targeting” and highlighting best practices for interactions between press and law enforcement at mass demonstrations. 

Filings:

2026-06-08: Complaint