Video: DHS Officer Fires Nonlethal Round Point-Blank — 21-Year-Old Left Blind in One Eye

A 21-year-old protester, Kaden Rummler, was permanently blinded in his left eye after a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officer fired a less-lethal round at close range during a January 9 demonstration outside a federal building in Santa Ana, California, held following the shooting death of Renee Good.

Video Evidence

A clip posted to X by Abigail Velez of ABC7 and reported by the Los Angeles Times captures the confrontation. The footage shows officers seizing a protester identified by friends as Skye Jones. As Jones resists, three demonstrators — including Rummler — run up the steps. The video shows one officer firing a less-lethal round into a woman's leg, then the same officer firing toward Rummler's face as he advances with a megaphone. Rummler collapses and is later dragged, bloodied, toward the federal building.

Injuries And Medical Treatment

Rummler lost vision in his left eye and sustained fractures to the bones around his eye and nose, his aunt Jeri Rees told the Times. Surgeons operated for six hours and found shards of plastic, glass and metal embedded in and around his face and eyes. Medical staff left a seven-millimeter piece of shrapnel near Rummler’s carotid artery because removing it posed a risk of death.

Official Responses

Tricia McLaughlin, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, told the Times that two officers were injured after what she described as a "mob of 60 rioters" throwing rocks, bottles and fireworks, and that DHS officers took "the rioter to the hospital for a cut." A Santa Ana Police Department spokesperson told the paper that, in the department's view, "the only violence...that night were demonstrators tossing orange cones at the federal agents."

Rummler's aunt said he told family that officers did not immediately call paramedics and that some agents allegedly mocked him, saying, "You're going to lose your eye."

Policy, Training And Wider Context

DHS updated its use-of-force guidelines in February 2023 to allow less-lethal devices such as pepper balls and rubber projectiles, and requires refresher training at least every two years. The rules also state that strikes to the head or neck with less-lethal munitions can constitute deadly force and are permitted only when an officer reasonably believes there is an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury.

Ed Obayashi, a Modoc County sheriff's deputy and legal adviser, told the Times that officers are trained not to aim at the face because less-lethal projectiles can still cause serious injury or death; he said he did not see an imminent threat in the Rummler video. The incident has been cited alongside other recent controversies involving federal agents — including investigations into the death of Renee Good, a January 14 shooting of a Venezuelan national in Minnesota, and allegations arising from federal operations in Chicago — intensifying calls for independent review and clearer oversight.

Why This Matters

The severity of Rummler's injuries and the video evidence have renewed scrutiny of federal crowd-control tactics, training, and use-of-force decision-making. Advocates, legal experts and local officials are calling for independent investigations to determine whether policy was followed and whether further reforms are needed to prevent similar, potentially life-altering injuries.