Jorge Bautista, the pastor who was shot in the face by a federal agent with a projectile during a protest in Oakland last October, has filed a Federal Tort claim against the U.S. government.
Bautista, an Oakland resident who serves as pastor at the United Church of Christ in San Mateo, is seeking $5 million in damages.
On Jan. 27, Bautista’s lawyer, EmilyRose Johns, filed what’s called a Standard Form 95, the first step for any plaintiff who wants to sue a federal agency. In an attached letter to the complaint, filed with the District Court Litigation Division, Johns details the extent of Bautista’s injuries, saying he was “quickly unable to breathe because of the chemical agent and believed he would die from asphyxia,” and he “experienced trouble breathing following the assault, and he continues to experience severe trauma from the memory of the assault and his fear that he would die.”…