Police weapons used in George Floyd protests

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Racial justice protests

Weapons of control

What U.S. police are using to corral, subdue and disperse demonstrators

Law enforcement officers across the United States are using a variety of weapons on protesters during demonstrations against systemic racism and police brutality. George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. The fatal encounter has triggered a wave of protests across the country and around the world — undaunted by the coronavirus pandemic. Many of the events have been peaceful but some have turned violent, with scenes of arson, looting and clashes with police.

Authorities imposed curfews on dozens of cities across the country, the most since the aftermath of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Although the curfews have now been lifted, the protests continue and change is happening. Across the South, cities are removing monuments honoring the Confederate movement, which defended slavery. Some states are considering laws to make police disciplinary records public and ban chokeholds. The Democratic-led U.S. House is moving forward with sweeping reform legislation that could come to a vote by July 4, while Senate Republicans are crafting a rival plan.

Anti-protest weapons

1 inch = 25.4mm

~120 mm

~230 mm

~102 mm

~130 mm

~150 mm

~120 mm

~65 mm

~60 mm

~20 mm

~38 mm

~37 mm

~40 mm

~80 mm

~40 mm

Kinetic impact projectiles

Chemical irritants

Sting-ball grenade, sponge, rubber and wooden bullets, beanbag rounds

Pepper spray, tear gas canister, pepper canister and balls

~144 mm

~50 mm

Disorientation device

Flashbang grenade

1 inch = 25.4mm

~120 mm

~230 mm

~130 mm

~102 mm

~144 mm

~150 mm

~120 mm

~65 mm

~60 mm

~40 mm

~20 mm

~80 mm

~40 mm

~38 mm

~37 mm

~50 mm

Chemical irritants

Kinetic impact projectiles

Disorientation device

Pepper spray, tear gas canister, pepper canister and balls

Sting-ball grenade, sponge rounds, rubber and wooden bullets, beanbag rounds

Flashbang grenade

1 inch = 25.4mm

~230 mm

~150 mm

~120 mm

~65 mm

~60 mm

~20 mm

~40 mm

Chemical irritants

Pepper spray, tear gas canister, pepper canister and balls

~120 mm

~130 mm

~102 mm

~37 mm

~38 mm

~80 mm

~40 mm

Kinetic impact projectiles

Sting-ball grenade, sponge, rubber and wooden bullets, beanbag rounds

~144 mm

~50 mm

Disorientation device

Flashbang grenade

1 inch = 25.4mm

~120 mm

~230 mm

~130 mm

~102 mm

~144 mm

~150 mm

~120 mm

~65 mm

~60 mm

~40 mm

~20 mm

~80 mm

~38 mm

~37 mm

~40 mm

~50 mm

Chemical irritants

Kinetic impact projectiles

Disorientation device

Flashbang grenade

Pepper spray, tear gas canister, pepper canister and balls

Sting-ball grenade, sponge rounds, rubber and wooden bullets, beanbag rounds

Often described as non-lethal, these weapons can seriously injure, disable and even kill. Police have used them against peaceful protesters as well as members of the press during the demonstrations.

Chemical irritants

Chemical irritants include tear gas and pepper spray, which cause sensations of burning, pain and inflammation of the airways.

Public health and infectious diseases experts have opposed the use of chemical irritants such as tear gas, saying in an online petition that they could increase risk for COVID-19 by “making the respiratory tract more susceptible to infection.”

Because chemical irritants can spread widely, bystanders and individuals other than the intended targets can be exposed to the chemicals.

Tear gas

Tear gas has been widely and frequently used by police to disperse protesters. CS or CN gas are chemical compound powders that spray from canisters. They produce a burning sensation in the eyes and mouth that incapacitates.

Launcher

Canisters

Filled with tear gas, rubber rounds or plastic rounds

Minneapolis | May 29

Tear gas canister

Atlanta | June 1

Launcher

Canisters

Filled with tear gas, rubber rounds or plastic rounds

Tear gas canister

Minneapolis | May 29

Atlanta | June 1

Launcher

Canisters

Filled with tear gas, rubber rounds or plastic rounds

Tear gas canister

Minneapolis | May 29

Atlanta | June 1

Launcher

Canisters

Filled with tear gas, rubber rounds or plastic rounds

Minneapolis | May 29

Tear gas canister

Atlanta | June 1

Pepper spray and balls

Pepper spray is chemically distinct from tear gas, but it produces similar effects: burning and watering of the eyes and skin. Police have shot protesters with pepper spray both from handheld devices and projectiles.

Police have also fired pepper balls ⁠— small projectiles containing chemical irritants. Such projectiles can contain PAVA spray, an irritant similar to pepper spray, as well as CS gas. The balls can be shot from launchers or modified paintball guns.

Hand-held

pepper spray

Minneapolis | May 27

Pepper ball gun

Louisville, Kentucky | May 29

Pepper ball gun

Hand-held

pepper spray

Minneapolis | May 27

Louisville, Kentucky | May 29

Pepper ball gun

Hand-held

pepper spray

Minneapolis | May 27

Louisville, Kentucky | May 29

Hand-held

pepper spray

Minneapolis | May 27

Pepper ball gun

Louisville, Kentucky | May 29

Protester defenses

Protesters have defended themselves against chemical irritants such as tear gas in multiple ways. Sometimes they have thrown canisters back with gloved hands, used traffic cones to trap the canister and prevent the gas from spreading, and pushed the gas away from themselves with leaf blowers.

Cincinnati | June 1
Seattle | June 3
Athens, Georgia | May 27

Umbrellas have been used as shields during demonstrations. Protestors have doused themselves with milk to help diffuse the burning sensations of pepper spray.

Seattle | June 3
Memphis, Tennessee | May 31

What police are shooting

Kinetic impact projectiles include rubber, plastic, wooden, and “sponger” bullets as well as beanbag rounds, which are shot from launchers and guns. They can be fired as single shots or in groups of multiple projectiles, and can severely bruise or penetrate the skin.

A 2017 survey published by the British Medical Journal found that injuries from such kinetic impact projectiles caused death in 2.7% of cases.

Rubber, plastic, and sponger bullets

These kinetic weapons have been used against protesters and members of the press across the country. Reuters journalists in Minneapolis were shot by police with 40mm hard plastic projectiles during a protest in May.

The mayor of Los Angeles said the city’s police department will minimize the use of rubber projectiles during peaceful protests going forward. A judge ordered Denver police to stop using chemical weapons or projectiles unless a senior officer authorizes such use of force. Portland and Seattle temporarily restricted police using tear gas on protesters.

Projectile launcher

Atlanta | June 1

Projectile launcher

Atlanta | June 1

Projectile launcher

Atlanta | June 1

Projectile launcher

Atlanta | June 1

Beanbag rounds

Beanbag rounds, also known as flexible baton rounds, are synthetic cloth bags filled with metal pellets that fit into a cartridge. They expand as they travel through the air, spreading the area of impact.

A 20-year-old African-American protester was critically injured after a beanbag round struck him in the head during demonstrations in Austin, Texas. The Austin police chief confirmed that officers used beanbag rounds, adding that the person they intended to hit had thrown a water bottle and a backpack at officers — a behavior that meets the department’s criteria for using such devices. The protester who was hit was standing next to the intended target.

Wooden bullets

Police forces have shot wooden bullets at protesters in Columbus, Ohio. Images online showed wooden dowel-shaped rods sliced into small, bullet-sized projectiles. The Columbus Police Department confirmed they used those devices against protesters on May 30 and said they are known as “knee knockers.”

Sting-ball grenades

Protesters have reported police using sting-ball grenades, which upon explosion spray the surrounding area with rubber pellets. In addition to the rubber balls, the grenades can contain chemical agents or explode with bright light and sound.

Protester defenses

Protesters have worn helmets to protect themselves from projectiles. Some have used picnic tables as improvised shields.

New York City | June 3
Louisville, Kentucky | May 29

Disorientation devices

Disorientation devices, commonly known as flashbangs or stun grenades, explode with bright light and sound in order to stun and disorient demonstrators. They can cause severe burns when fired at close range.

Constructed like a conventional grenade, they are launched or thrown into crowds. The bright flash and the loud bang can cause temporary blindness, temporary loss of hearing and loss of balance. Parts of the device can burst and fly as shrapnel.

Washington, D.C. | May 31

From outrage to reform

George Floyd was memorialized at his funeral as the “cornerstone” of a renewed civil rights movement.

Terrence Floyd, his brother, joined an outdoor memorial in Brooklyn where many in the crowd knelt in a symbol of protest and chanted, “No justice, no peace.”

He urged the crowd to continue to seek justice but to avoid violence, saying, “My brother wasn’t about that.”

Sources

Reuters; American Civil Liberties Union

Top image

Law enforcement officers take position during a protest against the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Photo by Reuters/Lucas Jackson

End image

Protestors march against the death of George Floyd in New York City on June 4, 2020. Photo by Reuters/Andrew Kelly

Photo credits

Tear gas launcher photo by Reuters/Lucas Jackson; Kicking tear gas canister photo by Reuters/Dustin Chambers; Throwing tear gas canister photo by The Enquirer / Meg Vogel via USA Today Network; Traffic cone photo by Reuters/Lindsey Wasson; Leaf blower photo by Athens Banner-Herald/Joshua L. Jones via USA Today Network; Police using pepper spray photo by Reuters/Eric Miller; Police shooting pepperball gun photo by Reuters/Bryan Woolston; Umbrella photo by Reuters/Lindsey Wasson; Milk photo by The Leaf-Chronicle/Henry Taylor via USA Today Network; Projectile launcher photo by Reuters/Dustin Chambers; Helmet photo by Reuters/Eduardo Munoz; Table photo by Courier Journal/Alton Strupp via USA Today Network; Flashbang video by Reuters

Reporting by

Mimi Dwyer

Illustrations by

Wen Foo and Ally J. Levine

Editing by

Christine Chan and Lisa Shumaker