Protestors at last summer’s rally for President Donald Trump in Phoenix say they heard no warnings just before law enforcement officers lobbed tear gas into crowds in an effort to get them to disband.
While Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams admits that her department could have performed better at informing demonstrators to disperse, according to a city report released on Monday, ACLU Arizona policy director Will Gaona is dismayed by the findings.
“The issue is that we’re talking about a large scale indiscriminate use of what are essentially chemical irritants - things like tear gas - which, by their very nature, aren’t just going to impact one or two people," Gaona said. "They’re going to impact the entire crowd.”
ACLU Arizona has called for an independent investigation and has sued the Phoenix Police Department for access to a deeper archive of public records related to tactics used during the rally.
