Simi Valley 24-year-old hospitalized after getting struck by less-lethal bullets at LA protest

This story has been updated with comments from the Los Angeles mayor, who talked about crowd control measures used in the city.

Seconds after Nelson Buss answered his stepson’s call Saturday night, he and his wife, Amy, jumped in the car and raced toward Los Angeles.

Amy's son had been shot with less-lethal bullets as police clashed with demonstrators. It was the day after a Minneapolis police officer was arrested and charged with the third-degree murder and manslaughter of George Floyd.

Floyd, an African American man, had pleaded that he could not breathe after a white police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes during an arrest. Demonstrations in Floyd's name have been held nationwide in the days since.

Around 7 p.m. Saturday, CJ  Montano, 24, was in a stranger's car, his head split open and bleeding. The Marine Corps veteran called his stepdad to tell him someone was taking him to the hospital.

Nelson, a Thousand Oaks planning commissioner and real estate agent, and Amy, a teacher, drove from their Ventura County home to Cedars-Sinai. They had no idea how badly their son might be injured, but knew he had to take regular blood-thinning medication, which would make any bleeding more severe.

“You have this overwhelming impulse to grab your child and try to pull him to safety,” Nelson Buss said. “I don’t know exactly what I thought I was going to do when I got in the car, but I imagine it was something along the lines of grab him, put him in the car and bring him home.”

That wouldn’t happen.

Montano, who also goes by Iz Sinistra and lives in Simi Valley, ended up in the intensive care unit because of bleeding in his brain. He stayed in ICU through Sunday and was released from the hospital late Tuesday afternoon. He had a cane to help him walk and constant ringing in his left ear.

Talking to a reporter, he said his story wasn't the important one. He wanted to go to the protest to try to amplify voices in the black community. Montano, who is white and Latino, still wants to find ways to do that, he said.

After joining a large group of people gathered in a Los Angeles park around 1 p.m Saturday, he had listened to speakers and joined a march on nearby streets.

"We were just walking and chanting, 'Say their name,' " he said.

Things started to change and get more frantic later when Montano said police showed up in riot gear and tried to funnel people in certain directions.

Coverage: Hundreds protest George Floyd death in rallies across Ventura County

He and others held up their hands as they kneeled on the road in front of a line of police officers. At times, others in the crowd had thrown water bottles or other things toward police, he said.

He had recorded a live video on social media after one round of something that felt like tear gas was deployed, white smoke still filling the air and temporarily pushing some people back. He called out, telling a few where to find milk and water to cool their eyes and throats.

At another point in the video, he had cussed out a police officer on a roof, saying the officer was pointing a loaded rifle at the crowd.

A few times, he had urged people not to throw anything toward police.

Montano was hit multiple times with different types of less-lethal bullets, including in the back of his legs and in the ribs. He was standing with his hands raised in between a line of protesters and police when he was shot in the face, he said.

“I fell on the ground and I was trying to cover up the wound and crawl away,” he said. “Other protesters ran out and picked me up and dragged me out.”

A few then drove him to the hospital. He never knew their names, he said.

Los Angeles Police Officer Drake Madison said he wasn't aware of the number of non-police injuries at Saturday's protest, but no fatalities were reported.

"Rubber bullets can sometimes cause an injury," Madison said when asked if he was aware of injuries.

"When a crowd is asked to disperse and they don't and that is what's deployed, sometimes people get hurt. Yes, it happens."

Five officers were injured throughout the city Saturday, including two who were hospitalized, one with a fractured skull, according to an LAPD news release. Citywide, several police vehicles had been vandalized and businesses damaged, their shelves emptied, the department said. 

On Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the department has not used tear gas. Plastic or foam rounds have been deployed, but the mayor said in a news conference, they were not technically rubber bullets.

Amy and Nelson got to visit their son briefly at the hospital Saturday night. After waiting outside, they had their temperatures taken, wore masks and then, one at a time, got to go into his room for 10 minutes each – part of COVID-19 restrictions.

Their son lay in bed, a cervical collar around his neck and staples holding together a wound on his forehead. His hair was matted with blood.

Nelson said he and Amy try to teach their children to speak out when they think something is wrong or unjust, to stand up for others and that they have the right to do so.

"He was born into an activist family," said Nelson, who along with Amy had gone to a protest in Thousand Oaks on Saturday also organized in the wake of Floyd's death.

“It’s devastating to see your child injured and hurt,” he said. “But what’s even more devastating is to see them lose confidence in the traditions that you taught them to believe in.”

Local response: Demonstrators in Thousand Oaks join nationwide protests of George Floyd death

His stepson, who studies music production at a Los Angeles school, had no plans of giving up demonstrations.

"It just makes you want to go back out and keep fighting against inequality and injustice," he said from his hospital room earlier this week. "Really it’s making me more persistent, I guess."

USA TODAY contributed to this report.

Cheri Carlson covers the environment for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.