Berkeley City Council Places Moratorium On Some Police Tactics Against Peaceful Protesters

BERKELEY (KCBS) – The Berkeley City Council voted for a moratorium on the use of tear gas,rubber bullets and over-the-shoulder baton strikes by police against non-violent protesters.

The Contra Costa Times reported that the temporary ban was approved Tuesday night by the council members after a panel heard from about fifty speakers who denounced what they called the unnecessary violence, aggression and force used by Berkeley police officers against protesters during "Black Lives Matter" demonstrations in December.

Councilman Jesse Arreguin proposed the moratorium saying the city should be promoting peaceful protests.

"The issue is how can we take a more fine grain approach to apprehend those people that are engaging in those violent and destructive acts, while not indiscriminately hitting or shooting tear gas at a largely non-violent crowd," Berkeley City Council member Jesse Arreguin said.

In another move inspired by the recent protests, the council directed the city manager's office to come up with a plan for implementing body-worn cameras for police officers and dashboard cams for police vehicles.

Berkeley Police Chief Michael Meehan did not attend the meeting.