SEATTLE — Seattle police will temporarily stop using tear gas on people protesting police brutality.
Mayor Jenny Durkan made that announcement Friday afternoon after hearing recommendations from health officials and police oversight groups.
"SPD officers do not need to be using tear gas at protests as a crowd management tool," Durkan said.
Public health experts, including King County's health officer, oppose the use of tear gas, saying respiratory irritants can potentially increase the spread of COVID-19.
The mayor said Seattle Police Department’s accountability organizations, as well as Seattle’s federal police monitor, will review the use of tear gas and make recommendations.
Even as she announced the temporary ban on tear gas, police Chief Carmen Best acknowledged that last Saturday, nothing else worked for managing the crowd.
“Other options, such as glass balls and OC spray, were not effective at that time,” Best said.
Best said that before last Saturday, Seattle police had not used tear gas to control crowds since the 1999 WTO riots.
Among those marching last weekend in Seattle was city council member Lisa Herbold, who chairs the public safety committee.
"On at least four different occasions, I found myself running from tear gas," Herbold said. "It's the question of whether or not we're having a militarized response to a peaceful protest."
Herbold said police did not give protesters adequate warning before using dispersal tactics.
She and council member Teresa Mosqueda asked the city's police oversight organizations to review the use of tear gas.
On Friday, they recommended SPD to stop using it.
"We wanted to issue these recommendations right now because of the possibility of doing further harm to people exercising their First Amendment rights," said Jesse Franz of the Community Police Commission.
Franz said SPD has no department-wide policy for using tear gas.
“There should be clear policies, both for officers and protesters to know exactly what the rules are,” Franz said.
Friday marked an eighth day of protests in Seattle.
© 2020 Cox Media Group
