“Insecure” Star Kendrick Sampson Beaten by Police, Shot With Rubber Bullets During Peaceful Protest in Los Angeles

Kendrick Sampson is speaking out after he was attacked by police during Saturday’s protests in Los Angeles.

The Insecure star and How to Get Away With Murder actor was among those peacefully protesting police brutality and the recent killing of George Floyd and other Black Americans Saturday (May 30) in L.A. when police fired rubber bullets at him and other demonstrators.

Sampson’s nonprofit organization BLD PWR teamed up with Black Lives Matter to organize a peaceful protest at Pan Pacific Park in West Hollywood Saturday afternoon. When the protest moved to the Fairfax District, that’s when they were confronted by LAPD officers.

Video footage from the protest, which captured during a live CNN broadcast and also by Sampson himself on Instagram Live, shows the actor being hit multiple times by an LAPD officer’s baton. His rep later confirmed that he was also shot seven times with rubber bullets.

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This is the clearest video I could find! You can see on my IG live they started beating my assistant, Mario (who showed up to stand with me – after I told him to go home ✊🏽) in the white shirt to my right. Then in this video, look closely, you can see them shoot him by ricocheting a rubber bullet off the ground then you can see me, process that shit, step in front of him and you can see several of them hit me multiple times with batons, then an officer aims straight at me, no ricochet, and shoots. And hits. That was one of 7 shots I took. They are excruciating. And they CAN kill. Go to my twitter, or my IG lives I have saved to my feed – you can see them beating, agitating and brutalizing several unarmed protesters after they started the aggression. Then you can see WOMEN, non-Black true ACCOMPLICES in the struggle- not allies – step in front to try to protect and deescalate. ✊🏽Unfortunately, they beat them with batons too. @mattmcgorry got hit. @jenniferlepps from @cpdaction got hit! THIS IS WHAT THEY DO. They were DESIGNED and FOUNDED for this. @ericgarcetti you are a TRASH ASS MAYOR for encouraging this in your city and unwaveringly standing with them. #DEFUNDPOLICE #ProsecuteKillerCops #ProsecuteKillerKKKops

A post shared by Kendrick Sampson (@kendrick38) on May 30, 2020 at 11:41pm PDT

Sampson said in a statement Sunday:

“My non-profit initiative BLD PWR and I, in collaboration with Black Lives Matter LA, organized a peaceful demonstration, protesting the brutal killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Kenneth Ross, Jr. and 600+ others killed by police in LA County. [The protest] had two demands 1) Defund Police and 2) Prosecute Killer Cops. I am safe this morning, but the liberation continues tomorrow and beyond. Defund Police.”

“Glad y’all witnessed this. Esp the video of them actually targeting us. He didn’t try to ricochet the bullets of the ground – one tactic – he pointed the gun DIRECTLY AT ME. I actually got hit 7 times with rubber bullets and many with batons. My boy has stitches. #DEFUNDPOLICE,” Sampson said on Twitter after the incident.

He added: “Appreciate the outpouring of support & standing with us but if y’all really want to support, make sure we do EVERYTHING in our POWER to #DEFUNDPOLICE – END THE LEGACY OF SLAVE CATCHING and use those resources, OUR RESOURCES to build BETTER. Make THAT the headlines. Put in WORK.”

Glad I y’all witnessed this. Esp the video of them actually targeting us. He didn’t try to ricochet the bullets of the ground – one tactic – he pointed the gun DIRECTLY AT ME. I actually got hit 7 times with rubber bullets and many with batons. My boy has stitches. #DEFUNDPOLICE https://t.co/q6DLRnqlYG

— Kendrick Sampson (@kendrick38) May 31, 2020

Appreciate the outpouring of support & standing with us but if y’all really want to support, make sure we do EVERYTHING in our POWER to #DEFUNDPOLICE – END THE LEGACY OF SLAVE CATCHING and use those resources, OUR RESOURCES to build BETTER. Make THAT the headlines. Put in WORK.

— Kendrick Sampson (@kendrick38) May 31, 2020