The federal government has paid Donavan La Bella $7.65 million for injuries he suffered after a deputy U.S. marshal fired a less-lethal munition at his face in July 2020 as he stood across from the federal courthouse in downtown Portland with his hands above his head.
The shooting knocked La Bella, who was holding a music speaker in the air, to the ground, crushed the front of his skull and left him with permanent brain damage, among other life-changing injuries.
La Bella’s suit alleged the deputy marshal “mercilessly shot” him without provocation, hitting him “squarely between the eyes” while he was peacefully protesting. His initial suit sought up to $17 million in damages.
James M. Healy, La Bella’s attorney, called the settlement a “good resolution” of claims filed more than three years ago. He reached it with the U.S. Department of Justice just before the Trump administration took over.
“This was a completely unjust and unnecessary use of force. It has been a long and highly contested fight with the government to get where we’re at,” Healy said.
La Bella’s life was “changed permanently and overnight in a sad and consequential way,” he said.
The government didn’t admit liability or fault as part of the compromise settlement, records show. Both sides agreed to voluntarily dismiss the federal civil case this month after a settlement was reached in November, a judge approved it in December and the U.S. Department of Justice accepted the agreement on Jan. 14.
La Bella, now 30, was standing across the street from the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse on July 11, 2020, when he was shot during one of the many protests that rocked Portland during the city’s mass racial justice protests after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Some people outside the courthouse were throwing rocks and other hard objects at officers, authorities had declared a riot and police ordered protesters to disperse. At one point, a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent threw a tear gas grenade toward protesters assembled across Third Avenue, according to the government.
La Bella, who was on the west side of Third Avenue across from the courthouse, bent down, picked up the canister and “under-hand tossed” it back toward the middle of the street, according to a government memo and video footage.
La Bella’s lawyers noted the canister remained in the street, far from any officers.
The government argued that the deputy marshal lawfully “took aim” at La Bella’s abdomen and fired a single shot from a less-lethal launcher, but he may not have effectively used the sight on the gun barrel because he was wearing a gas mask.
The government shared the name of the deputy marshal who shot La Bella with his lawyers but the name otherwise has remained under seal through a court-issued protective order sought by federal lawyers. The deputy marshal is referenced in court papers only as “John Doe 1.”
The government also hasn’t publicly released the exact type of munition fired at La Bella, but his lawyer Friday released a photo of an impact baton munition that was recovered at the scene.
The baton round is made with a hard plastic resin tip and is intended to cause blunt impact when fired to incapacitate someone who is hostile or non-complaint, according to manufacturers. The makers caution that impacts to the head, neck, throat or spine can result in serious or fatal injury.
Someone picked up the spent munition, gave it to La Bella’s family and it was tested at the state police crime lab, Healy said.
Dried blood on the impact baton matched La Bella’s DNA, “so we have pretty conclusive evidence” that it was the one that was fired and struck La Bella, he said.
After the shooting, the deputy marshal was distraught that his shot appeared to have struck La Bella in the head, asking, “How could this happen? I did not aim there,” according to a partially redacted deposition from his supervisor filed in court.
“He did harm to somebody, that wasn’t his intent … that’s what he kept saying,” a team commander said during the deposition.
Yet the deputy marshal also allegedly told his supervisor later, “I just wanted to put the guy down because he threw the canister back,” according to court documents.
John Doe 1 had arrived in Portland on July 4, 2020, with a 12-member team from the U.S. Marshals Service Special Operations Group, a tactical unit. They were sent to Portland at the direction of President Donald Trump to provide extra officers to protect the federal courthouse amid the mass protests.
Under the terms of the settlement, the government agreed to pay an initial lump sum cash payment to La Bella’s conservator of $3.5 million, with $3.2 million going to buy annuities to pay La Bella’s conservator to cover monthly income and benefits for La Bella for 40 years.
La Bella, through the conservator, is to receive $6,480.63 a month, with an annual 4% cost of living adjustment, according to the settlement.
Another $950,000 will be paid to support a so-called reversionary medical trust for La Bella, meaning that if he dies before the end of the 40-year annuity period, any annuity and trust payments would revert back to the United States.
Because La Bella doesn’t have a spouse or children, he’s comfortable with that aspect of the agreement, according to Healy.
La Bella’s mother, Desireé La Bella, said she’s pleased that the government settled but disagrees with withholding the deputy marshal’s name and with the provision that allows any remaining funds to revert to the government. The money should go to a charity instead, she said.
“They need to be held accountable,” she said of the deputy who pulled the trigger and any other marshal who may have directed him to shoot. “Why on earth is the shooter’s name protected? My son wasn’t protected. Why is (the deputy’s) safety more important than an unarmed person?”
A video shared on social media showed La Bella tossing the canister federal officers threw at protesters back into the street and raising the music speaker again. A few seconds later, a firing sound was heard and La Bella collapsed, dropping the speaker.
La Bella, according to his lawyers, underwent multiple surgeries and continues to experience negative changes in behavior and personality, decreased impulse control, mood changes, memory loss, confusion, an inability to understand things, loss of empathetic reasoning, impaired judgment, loss of coordination and balance, severe cognitive dysfunction and headaches.
Richard Polin, a neurosurgeon in Portland who examined and evaluated La Bella after he was released from the hospital, wrote to the court that La Bella suffered bilateral frontal lobe injuries both from the initial concussive blast of the round that went through his frontal sinus and into his brain, as well as a secondary injury from spinal fluid leakage and brain abscess.
After his first surgery, he underwent a second operation to relieve hemorrhage and an infection, according to his lawyers, Healy and Christopher R. Best.
As a result of his injuries, La Bella is unable to seek meaningful work, housing and necessary services, Polin wrote.
“While he can take care of basic functions of daily living, he is unable to make sound solid decisions with regard to more complex strategies such as finances in the short-term and long-term,” Polin wrote. “He will absolutely need significant help managing his finances in order to secure housing, food, and necessary services without impulsively running through any funds given to him.”
After La Bella was first released from the hospital, he was living in a tent on the street and then in a motel before an appointed conservator helped find him an apartment, get food and medical benefits through the state and apply for state housing assistance and Social Security disability benefits, according to court records.
The Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General conducted a criminal investigation but did not pursue any charges against the deputy marshal. It’s unclear if the marshal faced any internal sanctions or discipline.
©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit oregonlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
