After a federal judge banned the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) from using 40mm foam projectile launchers in crowd-control settings, the LAPD dug into their seemingly endless arsenal of so-called “less-lethal” weapons and replaced the 40mm with another “less-lethal” launcher known to seriously injure people: the Fabrique Nationale de Herstal 303 (FN303).
The FN303 shoots high-speed .68 caliber projectiles containing small pieces of metal and sometimes chemical irritants or paint that cannot be washed off. The rounds are designed to cause a “dissuasive level of pain,” according to the weapons manufacturer, while the paint allows law enforcement to mark certain people for arrest or questioning later.
In 2004, a woman in Boston died after being shot with an FN303…