9 20-0429 Subject: Resolution Urging The City Of Oakland To Halt The Use Of Tear Gas
From: Councilmember Bas
Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution Urging The City Of Oakland To Immediately Halt The Use Of Tear Gas For Crowd Control During The Covid-19 Pandemic And Requesting The Oakland Police Commission To Immediately Review And Propose Changes To The Oakland Police Department's Policy In Order To Halt Such Use
My name is Kurt A. Kuhwald and I'm an Oakland resident. The use of tear gas, at any time, but particularly in the midst of a pandemic, needs to stop. Police reliance on weapons for war is unacceptable .
I am a D1 resident and I support this for very obvious reasons. OPD must be demilitarized and dismantled, and using chemical weapons on Oaklanders should never have been allowed in the first place.
I support the measure to immediately halt the use of tear gas in Oakland for crowd control during the Covid-19 pandemic. I also urge the council to go further and permanently ban the use of tear gas against citizens of Oakland. We should not be using a chemical agent that causes long-term respiratory effects and puts people at added risk during the COVID-19 pandemic or ever.
My name is Nicole Ferraro and I live in District 3. The recent use of tear gas by OPD has been completely unacceptable and should be banned permanently, as is its use in warfare. I support this proposal, but urge the council to go further and ban the use of tear gas by OPD under all circumstances.
We must ban the use of tear gas and all chemical irritants — not only during the Covid-19 pandemic (although this is, of course, essential given that the virus attacks the lungs and respiratory system) but permanently! Tear gas is not used in war and it should not be used on our streets against our own citizens.
I support this proposal and in addition support the banning of tear gas permanently. This is a dangerous tool during a respiratory-based pandemic, and it is a weapon of war in general. It has no place in the hands of people tasked to PROTECT and SERVE this city's people.
Use of tear gas is considered a war crime under the Geneva Convention, and yet the police have been using tear gas on demonstrators peacefully protesting police brutality itself. It is unconscionable to allow this to happen on a moral level. It is also incredibly dangerous due to panic and damage to lungs during a pandemic affecting our respiratory systems. Banning tear gas in our city is the smallest step we could take in this moment.
I am an Oakland resident in District 3. Tear gas -- and other chemical irritants -- should be illegal to use in our neighborhoods, just as it is illegal to use in a theatre of war. It has no role in de-escalation, can cause permanent damage, and its use even more despicable in a time of pandemic, Please ban its use by OPD.
Use of tear gas is a war crime under the Geneva Protocol of 1925. It's use is harmful to the citizens of our city who it is used upon, especially during a global pandemic that already attacks and damages the lungs. What's more, it causes panic that can lead to stampedes of people, creating danger for individuals with mobility issues and exacerbating the violence in our streets. Ban tear gas in our city!
While I applaud this initial gesture we must acknowledge that tear gas must be banned permanently. Forever.
Since OPD cannot follow its own policy of de-escalation, they should not have possession of tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper balls. Ban all these munitions outright. We cannot wait 180 days for OPD or the Police Commission to slow-walk an internal review and then wait for the City Council and Mayor to take action.
We must be more rigorous. We must act with preventative measures not reactive measures.
I support this measure to halt the use of tear gas by OPD. This measure imbarely addresses the problem however. Tear gas isnt allowed in warfare under the Geneva Convention. To allow it to be used on our own citizens as they peafully protest is a violation of human rights. I demand that you go farther and ban the use of tear gas and all chemical weapons in Oakland, by any police entitiy regardless of home jurisdiction. OPD claimed that it was the "mutual aid" officers from other departments that used the tear gas on the peaceful protests in downtown oakland. Do not allow your citizens to be terrorized by the police they pay for. Defund the OPD.
Tear gas is a war crime and it was used against children before curfew last week. Health experts are condemning the use of chemical warfare on our citizens during a pandemic.
My name is Margaret Hitchcock and I live in District 3. It has been horrific to watch the Oakland Police Department use tear gas on peaceful protests. I have spent years on the streets of Oakland protesting peacefully and have been on the receiving end of flash bangs and other "crowd control" techniques. These techniques are instruments of terror and do nothing to calm or control a crowd. I watched two weeks ago, the OPD use tear gas on a peaceful protest organized by children before even the ill-advised curfew was in effect. Those that I know who were there reported that no dispersal order was given to the crowd before tear gas was used. We should not be using chemical weapons against our own citizens but especially not during a respiratory based, airborne spread pandemic. The absolute disregard for the health of Oakland citizens shown by the OPD is reprehensible. THis is another reason that they should lose at least 50% of their budget.
I am a registered nurse and an oakland resident. The use of teargas by OPD must be halted. It is and has been painfully obvious that OPD does not use tear gas as a last resort, but as a simple means of crowd dispersion. This is a crime. Not only in warfare, but especially in a global respiratory pandemic. Causing persons to cough, sneeze, and vomit in a group could and should be considered intention to transmit Covid-19, a terrorist act in many states. BAN TEARGAS.
BAN RUBBER BULLETS for crowd control while you're at it.
Tear gas should never be used during COVID-19 or any other time. OPD should not be using chemical weapons period. These weapons need to be banned permanently.
My name is Kurt A. Kuhwald and I'm an Oakland resident. The use of tear gas, at any time, but particularly in the midst of a pandemic, needs to stop. Police reliance on weapons for war is unacceptable .
I am a D1 resident and I support this for very obvious reasons. OPD must be demilitarized and dismantled, and using chemical weapons on Oaklanders should never have been allowed in the first place.
I support the measure to immediately halt the use of tear gas in Oakland for crowd control during the Covid-19 pandemic. I also urge the council to go further and permanently ban the use of tear gas against citizens of Oakland. We should not be using a chemical agent that causes long-term respiratory effects and puts people at added risk during the COVID-19 pandemic or ever.
My name is Nicole Ferraro and I live in District 3. The recent use of tear gas by OPD has been completely unacceptable and should be banned permanently, as is its use in warfare. I support this proposal, but urge the council to go further and ban the use of tear gas by OPD under all circumstances.
We must ban the use of tear gas and all chemical irritants — not only during the Covid-19 pandemic (although this is, of course, essential given that the virus attacks the lungs and respiratory system) but permanently! Tear gas is not used in war and it should not be used on our streets against our own citizens.
I support this proposal and in addition support the banning of tear gas permanently. This is a dangerous tool during a respiratory-based pandemic, and it is a weapon of war in general. It has no place in the hands of people tasked to PROTECT and SERVE this city's people.
Use of tear gas is considered a war crime under the Geneva Convention, and yet the police have been using tear gas on demonstrators peacefully protesting police brutality itself. It is unconscionable to allow this to happen on a moral level. It is also incredibly dangerous due to panic and damage to lungs during a pandemic affecting our respiratory systems. Banning tear gas in our city is the smallest step we could take in this moment.
I am an Oakland resident in District 3. Tear gas -- and other chemical irritants -- should be illegal to use in our neighborhoods, just as it is illegal to use in a theatre of war. It has no role in de-escalation, can cause permanent damage, and its use even more despicable in a time of pandemic, Please ban its use by OPD.
Use of tear gas is a war crime under the Geneva Protocol of 1925. It's use is harmful to the citizens of our city who it is used upon, especially during a global pandemic that already attacks and damages the lungs. What's more, it causes panic that can lead to stampedes of people, creating danger for individuals with mobility issues and exacerbating the violence in our streets. Ban tear gas in our city!
While I applaud this initial gesture we must acknowledge that tear gas must be banned permanently. Forever.
Since OPD cannot follow its own policy of de-escalation, they should not have possession of tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper balls. Ban all these munitions outright. We cannot wait 180 days for OPD or the Police Commission to slow-walk an internal review and then wait for the City Council and Mayor to take action.
We must be more rigorous. We must act with preventative measures not reactive measures.
All existing and future "chemical irritants" should be banned from use by the OPD, not just in the circumstances of a pandemic but at all times.
I support this measure to halt the use of tear gas by OPD. This measure imbarely addresses the problem however. Tear gas isnt allowed in warfare under the Geneva Convention. To allow it to be used on our own citizens as they peafully protest is a violation of human rights. I demand that you go farther and ban the use of tear gas and all chemical weapons in Oakland, by any police entitiy regardless of home jurisdiction. OPD claimed that it was the "mutual aid" officers from other departments that used the tear gas on the peaceful protests in downtown oakland. Do not allow your citizens to be terrorized by the police they pay for. Defund the OPD.
Tear gas is a war crime and it was used against children before curfew last week. Health experts are condemning the use of chemical warfare on our citizens during a pandemic.
My name is Margaret Hitchcock and I live in District 3. It has been horrific to watch the Oakland Police Department use tear gas on peaceful protests. I have spent years on the streets of Oakland protesting peacefully and have been on the receiving end of flash bangs and other "crowd control" techniques. These techniques are instruments of terror and do nothing to calm or control a crowd. I watched two weeks ago, the OPD use tear gas on a peaceful protest organized by children before even the ill-advised curfew was in effect. Those that I know who were there reported that no dispersal order was given to the crowd before tear gas was used. We should not be using chemical weapons against our own citizens but especially not during a respiratory based, airborne spread pandemic. The absolute disregard for the health of Oakland citizens shown by the OPD is reprehensible. THis is another reason that they should lose at least 50% of their budget.
I am a registered nurse and an oakland resident. The use of teargas by OPD must be halted. It is and has been painfully obvious that OPD does not use tear gas as a last resort, but as a simple means of crowd dispersion. This is a crime. Not only in warfare, but especially in a global respiratory pandemic. Causing persons to cough, sneeze, and vomit in a group could and should be considered intention to transmit Covid-19, a terrorist act in many states. BAN TEARGAS.
BAN RUBBER BULLETS for crowd control while you're at it.
The use of tear gas is an internationally-recognized war crime. The City Council must immediately and permanently bad its use.
Tear gas should never be used during COVID-19 or any other time. OPD should not be using chemical weapons period. These weapons need to be banned permanently.
My name is Connor Tench. I live in District 3. Please pass this.
The police should not use tear gas at all. It is illegal to use in war and should not be used by the police.