Chemical agents – including tear gas, pepper balls, and other lachrymators – have been fired at peaceful protesters in cities including Austin, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Richmond, Sacramento, San Diego, Seattle, and even Beverly Hills.
The most high-profile of these incidents involved the U.S. Park Police using chemical agents to disperse protesters in Washington, D.C. so that President Trump could walk across Lafayette Square to St. John’s Episcopal Church for a photo op.
NPR highlighted both a 2014 study by the US Army concluded that soldiers exposed to tear gas were more likely to contract respiratory illnesses, as well as a letter signed by over a thousand public health professionals that “Oppose[s] any use of tear gas, smoke, or other respiratory irritants” during the protests.
This goes against the value of innocence that John Adams and others placed at the foundation of our criminal justice system.
This common-sense proposal would set a federal standard regarding the use of chemical agents, holding all police departments accountable for indiscriminate use against American citizens.
