Since the height of the protests, the department has spent almost $25,000 buying 650 teargas grenades, smoke-and-gas grenades, smoke canisters and “hornets nest” CS sting grenades, which shoot out dozens of rubber bullets and a powdered chemical agent upon detonation
Sounds like a less than lethal cluster bomb to me.
It has spent a further $18,000 on 1,500 “beanbag rounds” and 6,000 pepper balls, paintball-style projectiles that explode with a chemical irritant when they strike a protester. The department uses LiveX branded pepper balls, which are billed as ten times hotter than standard pepper rounds.
Honestly I don't think any of that is necessary. But then again, I'm OK with a level of force that most people are not comfortable with.
Observers from Amnesty International said in a report earlier this month that an excessive police reaction to a small minority of violent protesters who threw bottles in Ferguson had run the risk of killing demonstrators and impinged on their human rights.
They noted that the so-called “less-lethal” ammunition shot at crowds in Ferguson – such as wooden bullets, beanbag rounds, and rubber bullets – “can result in serious injury and even death”. The report found that “at least two children were treated for exposure to teargas” during the protests.
“Equipping officers in a manner more appropriate for a battlefield may put them in the mindset that confrontation and conflict is inevitable rather than possible, escalating tensions between protesters and police,” said the report.
Amnesty Intl. can STFU. They are like that nurse who love to talk about their rights and shit but never want to talk about their obligations and duties. People throwing rocks at police should feel glad that they are lucky enough to be met with less than lethal force. There are MANY MANY alternatives that could be used.
And Amnesty, like many other liberal groups like to place the blame for situation on the wrong people. If someone is killed by a less than lethal round shot by a police officer due to some "protestor" throwing a bottle at him or her, the responsibility lies with the idiot who threw the bottle.
Nobody who takes to the street peaceably (that does not mean quietly) should have to worry about actions by the police (other than usual crowd control). But if some criminal minded people with their own agendas come in and gets somebody hurt or dead, its that person's fault. Full stop.
