As police responded to mass protests across the nation two years ago with tear gas and other chemical munitions, more than a dozen U.S. senators asked the congressional watchdog to find out whether federal agencies have assessed how safe they are
FILE - Tear gas fills the air during protests in Portland, Ore., on Sept. 18, 2020. Questions posed by lawmakers, medical workers and experts about the safety of tear gas remain unanswered, even after more than a dozen U.S. senators asked a congressional watchdog to look into the issue. – In 2020, Black Lives Matter protesters were doused with tear gas, making them gasp for breath, their eyes feeling as if they were on fire. Bystanders, including children and pregnant women, were also exposed.
Portland, Oregon’s largest city, was an epicenter of the protests, with months of nightly, often violent demonstrations and vandalism following the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. Portland police used tear gas and pepper balls against protesters, and the Trump administration sent militarized federal agents to the city, starting in July 2020.
Gretta Goodwin, a director of the GAO and lead author of the report released late last year, said her office was unable to answer the senators’ question on whether federal agencies have assessed the safety and effectiveness of tear gas and other chemical munitions, or their impacts on underlying health conditions.
The GAO found that three federal agencies — the Marshals Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Secret Service — don’t even document when officers violate their agencies’ policies while using these weapons.Among controversial tactics and actions taken by law enforcement during Black Lives Matter protests:"Kettling,” in which police seal off escape routes while blanketing people in tear gas and firing pepperballs; and firing projectiles point-blank at people.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that “long-lasting exposure or exposure to a large dose of riot control agent, especially in a closed setting” may cause blindness, glaucoma, severe chemical burns to the throat and lungs, respiratory failure and death.The GAO report footnoted a 2016 study by Physicians for Human Rights and the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations on health consequences of crowd-control weapons.