A new Amnesty International report accuses the agencies that policed the Ferguson protests of improperly using force, among other things.
Police in Ferguson on August 17.
Scott Olson / Getty Images
The 26-page Amnesty International report "outlines some of the human rights abuses and other policing failures" that were observed by a delegation that was sent to Ferguson on Aug. 14. BuzzFeed News journalists saw and spoke with members of the delegation on several occasions during the protests.
A spokesman for the St. Louis County Police Department — which was one of several agencies with officers at the protests — responded to the report by telling Reuters that law enforcement "had one mission, and that was the preservation of life."
Here are some of the alleged abuses detailed in the report:
Police used force, including tear gas and rubber bullets, against peaceful protesters.
A protester amidst tear gas on August 17.
Lucas Jackson / Reuters
The report mentions several times police fired tear gas at protesters, including one instance (p. 13) during which "it appeared that flash bangs and tear gas were thrown directly in front of the line of protestors, forcing" them to run down W. Florissant Ave. The report also recounts instances in which police used rubber bullets (p. 13), pepper spray (p. 12), and "long range acoustic devices" (p. 14) to disperse crowds.
The report — which lists the examples of police force in a section on "human rights concerns" — acknowledges that some looting and vandalism took place. However, it adds that the police response punished protesters and vandals alike (p. 6). It also was unclear if police gave lawful orders to disperse, the report adds (p. 12).
from BuzzFeed - Breaking http://ift.tt/1nBQrpK
No comments:
Post a Comment