From USA Today:
“Portland mayor bans cops from
using tear gas after months of protests and criticism”
The mayor of Portland ordered the
city's police to stop using tear gas for crowd control during protests that
have rocked the city for more than 100 days in the wake of the police killing
of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Mayor Ted Wheeler said Thursday the ban is
effective immediately and will last until further notice. Wheeler, who was tear
gassed by federal officers along with a large group of protesters in July, also
serves as the city's police commissioner. "During the last hundred days,
Portland, Multnomah County and State Police have all relied on CS gas where
there is a threat to life safety," Wheeler said in a statement. "We
need something different. We need it now." CS gas is a common form of tear
gas that can immediately cause irritation to the eyes, nose, mouth, lungs and
skin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prolonged
exposure to the gas, which is forbidden to use in war but legal for use on
civilians, can cause severe health effects such as blindness, glaucoma,
respiratory failure and death due to severe chemical burns to the throat and
lungs, according to the CDC. Wheeler's announcement comes after months of
criticism leveled at police across the country for using tear gas to control
crowds at Black Lives Matter protests. In June, Wheeler ordered police to curb
the use of tear gas shortly after the American Civil Liberties Union Oregon
sent a letter to Oregon's mayors, city managers and police chiefs urging them
to ban the use of tear gas and flash bang devices. At the time, Wheeler said he
directed Portland Police Chief Jami Resch to only use tear gas if "there is
a serious and immediate threat to life safety, and there is no other viable
alternative for dispersal." Protesters in Oregon's largest city have
sometimes clashed with law enforcement during the nightly demonstrations. The
protesters want city officials to slash the police budget and reallocate that
money to Black residents and businesses. Some are also demanding Wheeler's
resignation. Some have broken windows, set small fires, punctured police car
tires, and pelted officers with rocks and frozen water bottles. Wheeler
recently moved after protesters targeted his apartment building, breaking
windows and setting a fire in a business on the ground floor. Wheeler said he
still expects police to arrest anyone engaged in criminal activity and for the
criminal justice system to "hold those individuals accountable." "It’s
time for everyone to reduce the violence in our community," he said Thursday.
"Arson, vandalism, and violence are not going to drive change in this
community."
^ After over 100 days of
violence, death and destruction in Portland the Mayor clearly is way out of his
league in all of this. If I was in the Portland Police I would take official
leave (disability, administrative, etc.) and let Wheeler deal with the mess he
has helped create and stoke. Portland is the new Purge Zone (the previous was
in Seattle.) ^
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