This week, the man protesting an ice attack in downtown Los Angeles spoke with KTLA after closely shooting a bullet in the gro caliber of a police officer.
Martin Santoyo, a 33-year-old demonstrator, said he would start an interview.
Santoyo, who is currently home from the hospital but has yet to recover and is unable to walk, said the incident occurred in the Temple Street area shortly after he got off his bike amid a crowd of protesters and law enforcement. He noted that before this happened, no officers were heard declaring “an illegal gathering.”
He told KTLA that he was grabbing a bottle of water from his backpack as authorities began to move forward towards the group.
In a Zoom interview with KTLA, Martin Santoyo talks about being shot with a rubber bullet in his gro diameter during an ice protest in downtown Los Angeles. June 2025 (KTLA)
“Then they start screaming, ‘Back!” But I’m still fixing my backpack and bike. And they just pushed me,” Santoyo said. “About the instinct, I tell the police officer, ‘Don’t push me, I’m already back.’ And the policeman right next to him had a gun and was shot targeted. ”
Santoyo estimated that the officer who shot him was standing about two to three feet away from him and said he shot him at the gro caliber.
“After I was attacked, I really couldn’t walk. I was in too much shock and they’re still pushing me,” Santoyo said. “Some of the other protesters were trying to help me walk, but they’re pushing them too. And everyone is screaming, “Yo-yo, he’s just hit, let him breathe.” I had to sit for a bit, but they kept pushing. ”
Bystanders eventually help Santoyo get to see a doctor and he is eventually taken to the hospital where he has to undergo surgery because he is injured.
“I had a wounded left test circle and my right test circle was crushed,” explained Santoyo. “They say they fixed it a bit, so there should be some kind of feature, but it’s still very badly damaged.”
The doctors did not have an estimate of the time for his recovery, but they told Santoyo to return in about 5-8 days to be seen again, and they evaluate how he is doing and whether he can return to work.
Regarding the protests he took part in before his injuries, Santoyo said he went to hear him and get him to speak for others.
“I went for people who can’t, people who are too scared to go. There are a lot of kids who know they’ve lost their parents,” he said.
But despite his injuries, Santoyo said he plans to return to the protest on Saturday, whether he is walking or not. “The 14th is a big move, so maybe I’m in a wheelchair,” he said.
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