

#Rip rounds skin#
Groups have begun documenting health issues like prolonged coughing, skin blisters and diarrhea. Most injuries from the use of tear gas in Hong Kong have been minor. If used appropriately, it drives people to flee the gas, which irritates their eyes, skin and lungs without causing serious, long-term injuries in most people.Įxperts say officers should fire tear gas canisters a short distance toward the edges of a crowd.īut law enforcement officers at times ignore those guidelines, leading to debilitating injuries, as has happened at protests in South Korea, Bahrain and Turkey. “You are now taking a less-lethal tool, the tear gas, and making it a potentially lethal object.”Īround the world, tear gas has long been a means to control riots and civilian protests.

Bueermann, a former police chief who advises law enforcement agencies. “I would find this to be completely unacceptable under American standards,” added Mr. “This is ridiculous,” said Jim Bueermann, former president of the Police Foundation in Washington, referring to a video that appeared to show tear gas being fired off an office tower. Many recordings show officers deploying tear gas against crowds that appeared nonviolent and that were not attacking the police. Often, they hold up large banners warning the crowds about tear gas before they fire.īut a Times review of dozens of episodes involving tear gas show the police force, at times, has used methods that experts describe as indiscriminate and excessive. The police say they have acted with restraint. Activists have thrown bricks, blocked streets and set fires. The Hong Kong police have defended their use of tear gas, saying the protests have become more violent in recent weeks, with demonstrators embracing more aggressive tactics.
