PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A man who was hit in the face by a crowd control munition by a federal officer over the summer in Portland is back in the hospital for an infection related to his injury, his lawyer confirmed to KOIN 6 News.
Donavan LaBella, 26, was hit in the head with a form of munition from federal officers that left him bleeding on the ground across the street from the courthouse on July 12. LaBella was seen lifting a speaker above his head in front of the federal building moments before the incident. It’s unclear what type of munition was used.
Since then, LaBella had to get facial reconstruction surgery and has been in and out of the hospital several times for a “number of issues,” one of the attorneys representing LaBella, James Healy of The Gatti Law Firm, told KOIN 6 News. La Bella returned to the hospital last week to treat an infection, Healy said.
“He is back in the hospital with an infection related to the injury from when he was shot with a crowd control munition from a federal officer in July,” Healy said.
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Healy said he’s not sure when LaBella will be released, but knows the infection occurred in the area of his face that was shot, between the eyes. With all the information available to Healy at present, the infection is described as non-life threatening.
Healy said he and attorney Chris Best of the same law firm do intend to file a lawsuit once they have all the information they need to do so.
“We haven’t filed suit but are investigating all potential claims available against the federal government and the individual actors,” Healy said.
Editor’s note: this story has been updated to correct the spelling of Donavan LaBella’s name.