Two days before these Charlotte, North Carolina residents manned this George Floyd protest station at the Mecklenburg jail, hundreds of protestors were tear gassed and some injured on Fourth Street. | Intelqual/Wikimedia Commons
Two days before these Charlotte, North Carolina residents manned this George Floyd protest station at the Mecklenburg jail, hundreds of protestors were tear gassed and some injured on Fourth Street. | Intelqual/Wikimedia Commons
Tear gas and no-knock warrants became things of the past for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, banned after a controversial incident on June 2 during the fifth day of protests after George Floyd's death in Minnesota.
“We have pulled the chemical agent when it comes to riot control and dispersal of crowds,” Police Chief Johnny Jennings told City Council’s Safe Communities Committee, WBTV reported on Sept. 29.
Pepper spray, or oleoresin capsaicin spray, has a weaker effect and a smaller dispersal area, Jennings said, WBTV reported, and will still be used.
Changes made to police policy will include the ban on using tear gas for crowd control and the use of no-knock warrants.
Jennings’ decision came three months after witnesses and protestors said tear gas deployed in both directions trapped them on Fourth Street, where they sustained injuries, WBTV reported.
The State Bureau of Investigation failed to conclude police followed policies, nor did it exonerate them, WBTV reported. The agency’s report said not all exits were blocked by officers, but they were covered by gas.
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