RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A city council committee in Virginia’s capital has voted against a proposal that would ban police from using crowd control tactics such as rubber bullets, flash-bang grenades and tear gas on demonstrators.
The full Richmond City Council will still hear the proposal next month. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports two committee members opposed recommending it, citing the city’s new police chief and a task force that’s currently pursuing crowd control reforms.
Police have repeatedly used control equipment on protests deemed unlawful, dangerous or past curfew, including during a June clash where officers launched tear gas toward protesters peacefully gathered near a monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
