On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council shut down a proposal that would have limited the Los Angeles Police Department's (LAPD) legal authority to use “40mm foam launchers” and tear gas against protesters and people in Los Angeles.
The proposal was made in response to the LAPD's excessive use of so-called “less-lethal” munitions during anti-ICE protests over the summer.
During one protest, on June 8, LAPD officers fired over 600 hard foam rounds at a few dozen people hiding behind pink metal benches and plastic municipal signs outside City Hall. Then they used tear gas against protesters and members of the media to disperse the crowd.
“In recent months, we’ve watched this equipment deployed in ways that echoed the same intimidation tactics we condemn in ICE Raids,” Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez said during Tuesday’s city council meeting. “Tactics that erode trust and violate basic rights. Our residents should be able to express their rights without being met with rubber bullets and tear gas
Prior to June 8, the LAPD had not used tear gas in crowd-control settings in almost 50 years, an LAPD spokesperson told L.A. TACO.