13-Year-Old Sues Cop Over Off-Duty Gunshot

A 13-year-old is suing a Los Angeles police officer who fired a gun during an off-duty altercation with teens in Anaheim last month. In his lawsuit, Christian Dorscht says officer Kevin Ferguson "became irate" when teens walked across his property on their way home from school on Feb. 21, reports the Los Angeles Times. Christian says Ferguson called a female student a "c---," per OC Weekly, prompting Christian to ask him to speak "in a nicer manner." Ferguson then grabbed Christian, and as the confrontation escalated, Christian says he threatened to "sue" Ferguson, but the officer says he heard the teen threaten to "shoot" him. The suit says Ferguson never identified himself as an officer.

A video shows Ferguson holding Christian by the collar before a teen knocks into Ferguson, sending him into a hedge. Ferguson then draws a gun and fires a single shot, reportedly into the ground. Nobody was injured. Christian—who accuses Ferguson of assault, false imprisonment, and causing emotional distress—was one of two teens later arrested on suspicion of battery, but protesters have demanded "justice" since Ferguson remains on duty while police investigate, per the OC Register. The Los Angeles Police Protective League is not sympathetic. "We hope that this lawsuit determines why multiple young adults chose to physically assault a police officer and what the parents of these young adults could have done to teach their children right from wrong," it says. (A much happier story about an off-duty cop.)