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Original article: La cuenta de los perdigones en la revuelta social: Fisco deberá pagar $41 millones a víctima de trauma ocular

The 13th Civil Court of Santiago has ordered the State to compensate A.LM.G. with over $41 million after he lost vision in his right eye due to being hit by a shotgun blast from Carabineros on November 22, 2019, during the social unrest.

The court established that the police conduct was negligent and violated the protocols for the use of force, even though the agency asserted it acted within the legal framework of the social contingency.

In her ruling, Judge María Eugenia Silva Pacheco determined that the State must indemnify with $41,729,400 for emergent damages and moral injury to the audiovisual producer, who was headed to a musical performance in the Barrio Bellavista when he encountered a peaceful demonstration near Plaza Italia. According to the ruling, around 8:00 PM, the young man was walking south on Vicuña Mackenna towards the plaza when he noticed a special forces group from Carabineros on Burlhe Street. It was at that moment that, according to his testimony, an officer aimed directly at him and fired, striking him in the upper body.

The projectile entered through his right eye and lodged in the maxillofacial area, resulting in two emergency surgeries at Clínica Alemana and irreversible vision loss estimated by doctors at over 90%. As of now, the victim has no vision in his right eye and suffers from cataracts that will require ongoing surgeries for life.

The court rejected all exceptions put forth by the State considering that Carabineros committed a «service failure» by not adhering to the established protocols for the use of riot shotguns. The ruling explicitly references Circular N°1.832 of 2019 and General Order N°2365, which regulate the use of these weapons and require that the use of force be strictly necessary, proportional, and respect established levels of aggression.

Judge Silva Pacheco emphasized that the evidence presented did not establish whether the shot that struck the claimant «complied with the rules instructed to the officers when faced with potentially lethal active aggression, justifying the use of the means employed».

A key point of the ruling is that the absence of identification of the specific officer does not absolve the State of responsibility, as the lawsuit focused on the negligent actions of the institution as a police body rather than a personal failure attributable to a specific officer.

The court highlighted that the medical records, the police report filed by the victim’s mother, and the testimonies collected confirm that the impact was a result of the actions of Carabineros in the context of maintaining public order, with no evidence suggesting that the claimant exhibited any violent or aggressive behavior that would justify the use of riot ammunition.

The ruling points out the deep psychological impact suffered by the affected individual, who has exhibited symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive episodes with suicidal thoughts, anxiety, night terrors, and recurrent flashbacks of the traumatic event. The judicial resolution states that the loss of vision has severely affected his work capacity and quality of life, including difficulties performing everyday tasks, sleep disturbances, and a withdrawal from social activities he once enjoyed.

The judge concluded that, given Carabineros’ role in ensuring the proper use of force aimed at maintaining public order, «it is possible to attribute responsibility when the outcome diverges from the intended objective». The court firmly stated that the State was in a position to prevent the negative consequences of its officials’ actions and that the harm caused cannot be attributed to the victim’s actions but solely to police negligence in handling a manifestly peaceful protest.

 View the First Instance Ruling

La entrada State Ordered to Compensate $41 Million to Victim of Ocular Trauma Resulting from Police Action during Social Unrest se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.