NEW ORLEANS — Police will no longer be allowed to use tear gas except in rare instances under an ordinance the City Council passed unanimously Thursday.
The department came under fire when SWAT officers launched gas canisters on a crowd of protesters making their way across the Crescent City Connection on June 3, following the death of George Floyd. The department also used rubber balls, called “stinger rounds,” on the crowd.
At the time, Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said the gas was used only after it became clear that some protesters wanted to confront officers.
The new ordinance would prohibit the use of tear gas on anyone with a few exceptions, including when there is a threat of “imminent loss of life or serious bodily injury” or to try to get a “barricaded violent suspect.”
“The fact that tear gas is outlawed by treaty for use in war, it just makes sense that it shouldn't be deployed unless it's in the most dire circumstances on American citizens,” said City Councilman Jay Banks, who criticized the department’s use of tear gas on the bridge and co-authored the ordinance with Council President Jason Williams.
“The NOPD weighed in and they would have let us know if they thought this would in any way limit their ability to do what they need to do,” Williams said.
In addition to tear gas, the NOPD fired rubber balls -- also known as “stinger rounds” -- at protesters. Sade Dumas with the Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition worked to get tear gas banned. She said more has to happen.
“In Texas, a protester lost an eye after being shot by a rubber ball or a rubber bullet,” Dumas said. “We should not wait until something tragic like that happens to a New Orleanian before our leaders realize we need legislation to address that, too.”
The council also passed a resolution asking the NOPD and city attorney's office to ban no-knock warrants, the type that allowed officers to enter the apartment of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky. Taylor was shot and killed.
Council Vice President Helena Moreno, who authored the resolution, said she wants to prevent something like that from happening here.
No-knock warrants are allowed under state law, which means the council cannot prohibit them.
“The New Orleans Police Department and City Council are currently working together regarding the resolutions covering no-knock search warrants and prohibiting the use of tear gas except under specific, limited circumstances,” the NOPD said in a statement.
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