Bowser’s DC Metro Police, Not Trump, Deployed Tear Gas Against Rioters Near White House Last June
June 1, 2021 By Margot Cleveland
The Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department has confirmed to The Federalist that the MPD deployed tear gas on June 1, 2020, in the area of 17th and H Streets in response to “assaultive actions.”
The MPD’s Deputy Director of the Office of Communications Kristen Metzger told The Federalist that the tear gas was one of the crowd control tools deployed after individuals began throwing multiple objects at MPD officers, including “an incendiary device attack that seriously burned and scarred the limb of an MPD officer.”
In court proceedings last week, attorneys for the MPD sought dismissal of a lawsuit brought by Black Lives Matter and individual demonstrators. The plaintiffs claimed their constitutional rights had been violated by the then-Trump administration, federal officers, including the Park Service, and the MPD, when rioters were cleared from Lafayette Park and the surrounding areas.
The federal government has steadfastly maintained that it did not use the aerosolized version of the synthetic compound 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile also referred to as “CS gas,” but rather pepper balls and smoke bombs. The MPD has denied any involvement in the removal of rioters from Lafayette Park.
But in arguing for dismissal, the MPD’s brief acknowledged that the court must accept as true the plaintiffs’ allegation that tear gas had been used by the district officers outside of Lafayette Park. During a hearing last week on the MPD’s motion to dismiss, the district likewise argued that the use of tear gas would be justified.
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https://thefederalist.com/2021/06/01/bowsers-dc-metro-police-not-trump-deployed-tear-gas-against-rioters-near-white-house-last-june/
