This article is 7 years old

Berkeley Approves Targeted Police Use of Pepper Spray

News

to three in favor of allowing Berkeley Police Department (BPD) to use pepper spray on violent individuals at a special meeting on September 12.

BPD officers already carry individual canisters of pepper spray, but Chief Andrew Greenwood requested permission from councilmembers to carry larger canisters in the wake of violent clashes  at several protests since Milo Yiannopoulous’ cancelled appearance in February 2017.

In his presentation at the meeting, Greenwood referred to some protesters’ use of smoke bombs, wooden shields, and other weapons as dangers posed to other protesters and police officers.

“We have now seen over and over that extremists are willing to bring weapons to the fray and use them against those with whom they disagree,” said Greenwood. He continued, “We, your police, are charged ultimately with preserving space so the expression of first amendment speech — peaceful and quiet or boisterous and loud and, above all, nonviolent — can occur.”

Prior to authorizing pepper spray use, police were permitted to use batons, nonlethal projectiles, smoke, and tear gas to respond to violent situations.

Greenwood said this was not ideal because the deployment of tear gas is harder to control than pepper spray and affects everyone in the vicinity.

The decision to allow police pepper spray use was made just days ahead of right wing commentator Ben Shapiro’s speaking engagement at University of California, Berkeley on September 14. In addition to Shapiro’s visit, conservative figures Ann Coulter and Stephen Bannon are scheduled to visit the university during a “free speech week” from September 24 to 27.

Protests are expected in response to this speaker series and some law enforcement officers, city officials, and citizens fear that they will turn violent.

An ordinance passed in September 1997 prohibited BPD from using pepper spray for crowd control. The council’s recent decision doesn’t overturn the previous ordinance, but instead adjusts it to allow pepper spray use to address violent activity within a crowd.

Councilmember Cheryl Davila, who voted against the ordinance, expressed concern that pepper spray could be used to defend neo-nazis. She argued that pepper spray use should be avoided due to negative effects on the environment and on people with respiratory conditions.

Councilmember Susan Wengraf said that as long as there were no safer alternatives, she felt responsible for providing police with the tools needed to keep peace.

Mayor Jesse Arreguin also voted in favor of the ordinance. “I feel that this is an important tool to give out police to defend free speech and protect public safety,” Arreguin said at the meeting.

Furthermore, Berkeley City Manager Dee Williams-Ridley stated that the situation in Berkeley is more dangerous than before.

“Police are now dealing with well coordinated attacks organized by extremists in Berkeley,” she said.

During public comment, a number of citizens spoke up against the motion. Fewer spoke in favor of it.

“I think that this is a very rushed initiative,” Berkeley Copwatch member Andrea Pritchett said at the meeting. According to their website, Berkeley Copwatch is an “all-volunteer organization dedicated to monitoring police actions and non-violently asserting our rights.”

One concern surrounding the use of pepper spray is the potential harm to bystanders and to people with preexisting medical conditions.

“People uninvolved in [police-protester confrontations] or people with underlying conditions like a weak heart or respiratory problems could be very negatively affected,” said Pritchett.

Pritchett stated that the decision to authorize pepper spray use was made without sufficient consideration of these side effects.

Under a current police general order, BPD officers are required to arrange medical attention for  people on whom they use pepper spray.

Multiple speakers said during public comment that they did not agree with the categorization of left wing protesters as extremists.

“A lot of the presentation was focused on perceived anti-fascist violence….with no mention of white supremacist violence, nazi violence, or police violence,” said Thomas Hodgman, a citizen speaking of behalf of himself and former mayoral candidate Zachary RunningWolf.

“Police are referring to Antifa as ‘extremists,’” said another civilian at the meeting who did not wish to be named. “We cannot equate Antifa with neo-nazis. That’s an unfair comparison,” he said.

Thus far, BPD has not utilized the new pepper spray permissions.