Mecklenburg sheriff will stop use of tear gas. Charlotte councilman wants CMPD to do the same.
The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office says its deputies will no longer be allowed to use tear gas during protests or other law enforcement encounters, citing “tensions mounting between law enforcement and the communities they serve.”
The sheriff’s office on Monday night said it will remove the use of tear gas from its Use of Force policy amid days of protests in the region. The move came in an announcement from Sheriff Garry McFadden.
The MCSO called the decision a “prudent” approach following the “pain, frustration and national outcry against police brutality.”
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is a separate law enforcement agency and has not amended its policy, as of Monday night, which permits chemical agents to be used as a means of “non-lethal force” during certain police encounters.
McFadden’s announcement came hours before City Council adopts it budget for the coming fiscal year. City Council member Braxton Winston has proposed barring CMPD from buying new chemical agents or maintaining its existing stockpile. Winston’s motion would also create a city police oversight committee, The Charlotte Observer reported Friday.
“I would rather have meaningful conversations and engagement that build relationships and bonds with the community so that tear gas never has to be used,” McFadden said in a statement. “Throughout the past two weeks I’ve heard the cries of the community and during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, protecting our citizens is vital.”
Monday marked Charlotte’s 11th consecutive day of protests in response to the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
Response from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers during a protest last Tuesday is now under review by the State Bureau of Investigation. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers deployed chemical agents against largely peaceful demonstrators on the third night of protests in the city stemming from the death of George Floyd. Witnesses recalled being effectively pinned on one city block with police dispersing chemicals in the air in both directions on the street.
This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 5:57 PM.