Protesters, journalists and witnesses who were caught in clouds of chemical irritants, hit with police batons, pelted by projectiles and shoved with riot shields described their experiences and injuries to lawmakers, whose confidence in police officers’ tactics seemed to splinter along party lines.
The hearings before the House Natural Resources Committee were the first of several, with lawmakers signaling they have more questions about the types of weapons used and whether federal police officers issued verbal warnings before launching stun grenades and chemical irritants into the crowd. Continue reading.