Oakland Police Suppress Protesters With the Same Technology as Dictators
October 26, 2011 in News
UPDATE October 26, 2011: We have added several photos taken by protesters of non-lethal munitions used by police. It seems that the Oakland Police Department does exclusively uses the products of Defense Technology.
The remains of a chemical canister are seen after authorities reconnected with a group of stranded police officers during a demonstration by "Occupy Wall Street" protesters in response to an early morning police raid which displaced Occupy Oakland's tent city in Oakland, California October 25, 2011. REUTERS/Stephen Lam
Public Intelligence
Photos from Tuesday evening’s violent police response to a march supporting the Occupy Oakland protest encampment indicate that the Oakland Police Department is using the same crowd suppression technologies that are used by foreign dictators. One photo by Reuters photographer Stephen Lam shows a broken canister from a “Han-Ball” rubber ball smoke grenade. The non-lethal munition is made by Defense Technology Corporation of America (Federal Laboratories), a company based in Casper, Wyoming and owned by BAE Systems, one of the largest defense contractors in the world. The use of non-lethal munitions manufactured by this company has been reported in recent popular protests in Yemen and Bahrain. Several Palestinian protesters were injured in early 2011 and one was killed after being struck by tear gas grenades made by several U.S. companies, including Defense Technology Corporation of America.
In June, we reported that U.S.-made tear gas, rubber bullets and other crowd suppression technologies were being used around the world to suppress peaceful protests in Egypt, Tunisia, Israel, Bahrain, Yemen and Greece. These munitions were largely manufactured by a small handfull of U.S. companies, including the Pennsylvania-based NonLethal Technologies and Combined Systems Inc which sold non-lethal munitions to a number of oppressive regimes throughout the Middle East. Though the “Han-Ball” grenade used by the Oakland Police Department was loaded with smoke according to its markings, which is less caustic than tear gas (CS, CN) and is commonly used for cover or as a carrying agent for other chemicals, it is known that tear gas was later deployed. CS gas grenades manufactured by Defense Technology Corporation of America were also used by police in response to protests at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
If you have or can find photos of chemical agents and other munitions used by police at Occupy protests around the U.S. and the world, please consider sending us a copy or uploading the photos and information via our secure upload form.
Related posts:
- U.S. Tear Gas, Rubber Bullets Suppress Peaceful Uprisings Around the World
- Boston Police Department “We Respect Your Rights” Notice to Occupy Boston Protesters
- Police disperse protesters after clashes in China
- Oakland Police Department Crowd Management/Crowd Control Policy
- Oakland Police Department Officer Shooting Brief March 21, 2009
- Occupy Wall Street Union Square March and Arrests Photos September 24, 2011
- Occupy Wall Street Protest Police State Photos
- Occupy Wall Street Photos September 2011
It would certainly seem, from any vantage point, that the USA now has a civil war on its hands.
Moron. Total moron.
Wrong, a country that uses teargas respects it’s laws and freedoms. A dictator would have had them fired upon by live, and lethal, ammo.
Your claim is not a counterclaim to any statements in the article. We said they use the same technology and this is true.
Plus, “a country that uses teargas respects it’s laws and freedoms” is a somewhat bizarre statement. A country that teargases people walking down a street is not particularly respectful of anyone’s rights. I seem to remember something about a right to assemble.
See the Oakland Police Department’s own regulations on crowd control for what constitutes an “unlawful assembly”:
http://publicintelligence.net/oakland-police-department-crowd-managementcrowd-control-policy/
Oh my God, has clipboards, light bulbs and shoelaces…and so does the OPD!!! Every single law enforcement agency in the world employs teargas. Next time perhaps OPD uses live ammo. Then you’d have something to write about.
And I offer you a challenge. Watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYtJ3m9PSEM&feature=player_embedded Find and document the details of the mint green colored mystery substance the officers were covered in. I doubt Occupy Oakland would want those details publicized. After all whats good for the goose…
It’s paint. Look up paint.
Hmmm. Mint green? Could be dandruff shampoo or thinned down tooth paste. Mint ice cream? Or a chemical? But then why would you care since its on a cop and not a protester it really dosn’t matter dose it?
Simple ain’t it?! Suck it up Americans. That’s what happens when you sleep trough decades. Where are your homeland terrorists to counter attack? AhAh
Any comment? http://www.theblaze.com/stories/alleged-flyer-at-occupy-phoenix-ponders-when-should-you-shoot-a-cop/
Why would I have a comment? Do I have anything to do with the protests? What does this have to do with Oakland? Why do you assume that any sort of supportive position has been taken by this site? We simply wrote an article about how Oakland police use the same technology as foreign dictators, which you have not disputed. You’ve taken one article and extended it to imply some sort of premise that this site is anti-cop or something, which is completely untrue. Many of the readers of this site are law enforcement. Moreover, we’ve never explicitly supported the protests or any of their conduct. What we’re concerned by is the erosion of fundamental rights that PROTECT YOU as well as me.
Please, actually inform yourself with this site, rather than using it as a venue for your biases/assumptions.
Thank you However I am encountering an issue with your RSS. Don’t know why but I am unable to subscribe to it. Is there anybody getting identical rss problems? Anyone who knows kindly respond. Thanks.