​La Mesa Woman Shot In Police Protest Released From Hospital

LA MESA, CA — A La Mesa woman who was shot in the head with a police projectile during a protest last month was released from the hospital Tuesday.

Leslie Furcron, 59, was hospitalized in an intensive-care unit in a medically induced coma after she was struck May 30 in the forehead with a bean bag round. A video and photographs that went viral show Furcron lying on the ground with blood streaming down her face, amid demonstrators attending the protest against police brutality and racial injustice.

Furcron's family, as well as their attorney Dante Pride, have called for the officer involved to be identified, removed from duty and charged with attempted murder.

"We are going to get justice," Pride said during a news conference last week outside the police department. "Justice will not wait, and we will not be silent."

La Mesa Police Chief Walt Vasquez said last week that the incident remains under investigation.

Pride said he has reviewed dozens of videos and spoken with dozens of people who were at the protest and has seen no evidence that Furcron was violent or did anything to justify being shot.

Furcron was holding up her cellphone and recording the protest when an officer opened fire, Pride said.

"That's an attempted murder," Pride said. He noted that police did not call for an ambulance and that bystanders had to pick her up and take her to the hospital.

"For what?" he questioned. "She was protesting peacefully."

The La Mesa protest took place in the wake of the Memorial Day death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but the subsequent, controversial arrest of 23-year-old Amaurie Johnson adjacent to the Grossmont Trolley Station drew major protest efforts to the city.

The La Mesa Police Department later announced that no criminal charges would be sought against Johnson, who was originally contacted for smoking in public, then later arrested on suspicion of assaulting an officer. The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $160,000 had been raised on GoFundMe to help cover Furcron's medical expenses.

Also see:

• Family Of Woman Shot By Police Projectile Calls For Justice
• $10K Reward Offered For Info On La Mesa Gun Shop Burglary
• Police Seek Tips On Looters Who Damaged Buildings In La Mesa
• Man Arrested On Suspicion Of Looting La Mesa Store
• La Mesa Police Department Ceases Chokeholds
• Thousands Raised For La Mesa Businesses After Devastating Riots
• La Mesa Cleans Up After Night Of Protests, Arson And Looting
• Case Against Amaurie Johnson Dropped: La Mesa Police
• La Mesa Police Release Body Cam Video Of Controversial Arrest

City News Service and Patch editor Kristina Houck contributed to this report.