Who is Ben Montemayor? LA filmmaker, 29, whose testicle exploded after being hit by rubber bullet sues LAPD
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A 29-year-old man named Ben Montemayor has filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) for using “excessive force” and violating his constitutional rights when a law enforcement officer shot him during protests last year.
The lawsuit filed by Montemayor alleged that he was shot in the testicle with a hard-foam projectile by an LAPD officer during protests in the city last summer. The federal suit also claimed that both of his testicles swelled immediately after he was shot. But his right testicle swelled to the size of a “grapefruit” and had to be pieced back together by medical professionals. According to a report in Los Angeles Times, the suit challenges a finding by the department’s use-of-force review board that the officer was in policy when he shot Montemayor in June 2020. The defendants in the lawsuit include LAPD Chief Michel Moore. Let’s dig deeper and get to know more about Montemayor.
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Who is Ben Montemayor?
Based in Los Angeles, Ben is an Irish/Hispanic-American filmmaker who is famous for telling stories that highlight marginalized communities. He is also a photographer who loves to capture wild landscapes. According to his website, he started his professional career by shooting and editing branded music content for Live Nation entertainment. After working on some projects, he co-founded the production company Ocelot.
On the other hand, his LinkedIn profile says that he has worked for clients such as Under Armour, State Farm, Cisco, Secret, and Hilton featuring notable artists such as U2, Imagine Dragons, OneRepublic, Lee Ann Womack, and Bleachers. In 2019, he won his first editing accolade for the short film ‘Heroines’ at the South by Southwest Festival. His Instagram account features a lot of photos and videos from his portfolio and currently has 1,107 followers on the image-sharing platform.
As far as the lawsuit is concerned, Montemayor gave many such details that paint a picture that the police undoubtedly used excessive force to disperse the protesters. In the court documents, Montemayor claimed that he did not hear a “dispersal order” from the law enforcement agency and was heading in the direction he believed the police wanted protesters to go. The suit also says that two police officers came near him and ripped a sign he was holding. The placard held by Montemayor urged the government to “defund the Police.”
The lawsuit reads, “As Mr. Montemayor stood there, unarmed, not resisting arrest, posing no threat whatsoever to anyone around him, and having just been violently shoved, a third officer less than ten feet away aimed his green [40-millimeter] launcher at Mr. Montemayor and intentionally shot him in the groin with a high-speed plastic, hard foam projectile.” While speaking to the LA times, Montemayor said he holds LAPD responsible for his current condition. “They [the projectiles] are used irresponsibly. They’re overused. I don’t want them to be downplayed,” Montemayor said.
The bodycam footage released by police showed an officer shoving Montemayor backward as he put his hands up. The officer can then be seen shooting him in the groin.
The aspiring filmmaker first opened up about the incident on his official Instagram account in June 2020 and gave all the details about what happened that day. Since the horrifying incident, the LA-based filmmaker claims that he still suffers from trauma and emotional distress. The lawsuit also stated that he keeps on getting “flashbacks of being attacked” whenever he sees a police officer.
The court documents also label Montemayor’s treatment as “a horrific example of the unjustified police abuse and First Amendment retaliation meted out violently against peaceful protestors.”