Protesters told NBC 7's Jackie Crea it was their duty to take part in Thursday's protest. Burgess also accused law enforcement of spraying him with "pepper spray or another irritant'' by an unidentified officer, and that another officer "jabbed him in the stomach'' with a baton. Burgess previously filed claims for damages, both of which were denied by the city and county. He alleges that in denying his claim, the city stated the officers seen firing projectiles in a video Burgess shot with his cellphone were San Diego County sheriff's deputies and not SDPD officers. Burgess alleges the county made a conflicting claim: that no sheriff's deputies were at the downtown protest, only SDPD was present.