Readers Split On Restriction Of Police Tactics
Following protests earlier this year, the ACLU sued the St. Louis Police over their tactics. Last week came a ruling:
U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry’s order says that police can’t declare an “unlawful assembly” and enforce it against those “engaged in expressive activity, unless the persons are acting in concert to pose an imminent threat to use force or violence or to violate a criminal law with force or violence.”
Police also can’t use that unlawful assembly order or threaten the use of chemical agents to punish protesters for exercising their rights, she wrote.
Perry barred the use of pepper spray, mace and other chemical agents against “expressive, non-violent activity” without probable cause to make an arrest and without providing “clear and unambiguous warnings” and an opportunity to heed those warnings. (Post-Dispatch)
In the recent non-scientific Sunday Poll readers were split on this decision.
Agree or disagree: St. Louis Police should be able to declare protests as “unlawful assembly”, use pepper spray. etc.
- Strongly agree 11 [34.38%]
- Agree 3 [9.38%]
- Somewhat agree 1 [3.13%]
- Neither agree or disagree 1 [3.13%]
- Somewhat disagree 0 [0%]
- Disagree 4 [12.5%]
- Strongly disagree 12 [37.5%]
- Unsure/No Answer 0 [0%]
This ruling is long overdue.
— Steve Patterson