- Jax Feldmann, 24, walked home from a friend’s house on May 30, 2020
- He was hit in the face by a stray rubber bullet fired by a Denver police officer
- It was during the George Floyd protests and he was left permanently blind in his left eye
- Denver agreed Tuesday afternoon to pay $2.3 million in damages to Feldmann
An aspiring chef who lost his eye after being shot in the face while walking to his car during a Black Lives Matter protest has been awarded $2.3 million by Denver.
Jax Feldmann, 24, had been to a friend’s house on May 30, 2020, to try out new recipes.
He was walking back to his vehicle as he passed a demonstration following the killing of George Floyd and was struck by a stray projectile.
Feldmann was hit with a pepper ball – a projectile containing a chemical irritant similar to pepper spray.
On Tuesday, the city of Denver agreed to the payout — the latest in more than $20 million in damages.
Jax Feldmann, now 24, was walking home from a friend’s house when he was shot in the face by Denver police during the BLM protests following the death of George Floyd
Feldmann is depicted doubled over in pain, having just been shot in the face
“I saw a police truck pull up with two officers on the side of the vehicle, and suddenly I was hit in the eye,” he said.
His aunt Tracey Lynch said in a GoFundMe appeal that police didn’t even help him after he was hit.
“When Jax was hit by the bullet, no police officers came to check on him; instead, it was community members from the neighborhood who rushed to him and his friend and into the doorway so an ambulance could be called,” she said.
Feldmann said the injuries were life-changing.
“The organ I was born with and plan to have for the rest of my life should not have been taken,” he said.
Feldmann said he “saw a police car pull up with two officers on the side of the vehicle, and suddenly I was hit in the eye.”
The city has paid out more than $20 million to people involved in the 2020 protests, including $4.7 million to more than 300 Black Lives Matter protesters; $14 million for 12 injured protesters — which the city is appealing in federal court — and a $1.6 million settlement for seven injured protesters.
The $20 million total is in addition to the nearly $2 million paid to outside law firms to defend the city in court.
No police officers have been charged in Feldmann’s shooting.
Birk Baumgartner, Feldmann’s attorney, named a police officer, Diego Archuleta, as firing the pepper ball, but an investigation by Denver police was inconclusive.
Feldmann was shot from a truck driving down the road, and there were several officers on the truck.
Archuleta, who was disciplined for other actions during the protests, resigned on Jan. 6, 2022, according to department officials. He pleaded guilty to attempted strangulation the same day, court records show.