Berkeley meeting on tear gas ban canceled
Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin ... tweeted that he was canceling the meeting and that the ban on pepper spray and similar chemicals would remain in place.
Berkeley city officials called for — and then apparently canceled — a meeting Thursday to consider lifting the city’s ban on police using tear gas, tear-inducing smoke and pepper spray during the City Council’s recess.
An agenda for the special meeting was posted Thursday morning.
But Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin tweeted that he was canceling the meeting and that the ban on pepper spray and similar chemicals would remain in place.
Arreguin also blamed the Alameda County Sheriff ’s Office for “threatening to not provide emergency support to Berkeley,” but he did not elaborate in a tweet. He could not be immediately reached for comment.
Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesperson for the Alameda
County Sheriff ’s Office, said that deputies were in attendance at People’s Park, though not at the city of Berkeley’s request. Kelly said he was not aware of what was driving Arreguin’s allegation that the office threatened to hold off responding to the at times violent incident.
“We would never refuse to respond if there was an emergency and lives depended on it,” Kelly said.
Referring to the city’s ban on pepper spray and tear gas, Kelly added that if deputies can’t use equipment they’re trained with, then it “puts the officers and public at risk.”
The discussion was scheduled to take place the day after protesters clashed with police in an effort to block construction of a planned student housing development at People’s Park.
Seven people were arrested and booked on a range of charges, according to Kyle Gibson, a spokeperson for UC Berkeley, including battery of a peace officer, trespassing and resisting and obstructing or delaying an officer. One of the people arrested was released from custody and taken to a local hospital for minor injuries. Two of the officers involved in an altercation were injured.
On Wednesday, as construction crews began cutting down trees inside the park, protesters ripped down security fencing, planted themselves in the street and damaged earthmovers and other construction equipment.
Police and construction crews were dispersed from the area, and construction was halted.
Documents provided by Berkeley about the scuttled meeting did not make an explicit link between Wednesday’s demonstrations and the measure to temporarily lift the ban on pepper spray and similar chemicals.