Los Angeles cops have fired hundreds of rounds of less-lethal ammunition, deployed tear gas and flash bangs to break up the anti-ICE protests that have raged for nearly a week across Southern California.
More than 200 people were arrested on Tuesday night alone after Mayor Karen Bass instituted a curfew on Los Angeles.
“The most explosive escalation of tensions between demonstrators and police since the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 is currently unfolding in Los Angeles over Trump’s ‘mass deportation agenda,’” said Kieran Doyle, with Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, a group that tracks civil unrest and wars.
Here are some of the riot tools that cops are deploying across Los Angeles to stop rioters and control protests.
Tear gas
Also called CS gas, for the active ingredient it uses, the has been deployed by both the LAPD and California Highway Patrol — in the form of hand-held canisters — to disperse hostile crowds.
Tear gas is banned for use in warfare under the Geneva Protocol, but is commonly used for riot control by police.
Impact rounds or baton rounds
This “less-lethal ammo” is fired from either a specialized launcher or a modified shotgun. These can cause blunt force injuries and lacerations.
The LAPD fired off some 600 baton rounds over the weekend, using lighter rubberized foam projectiles in place of traditional rubber bullets, the WSJ reported.
Many police departments started using these as a less dangerous alternative to rubber bullets, which caused serious injures, including in the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.
Officers are often trained to aim these low so that they bounce off the ground, so as to avoid head injuries.
However, New York Post photographer Toby Canham appears to have been shot with one of these rounds directly in the head while snapping images of a riot this week.
He captured an incredible image of the projectile coming straight at him before he was hit. The round left him with a massive wound on his forehead.
Similarly, an Australian TV reporter appears to have been shot with one of these rounds live on the air.
Pepper balls
Authorities in LA have used pepper balls — a less-lethal projectile designed to burst on impact and release pepper spray for crowd control.
These chemicals can cause a burning sensation to exposed skin, coughing and gagging, and watering and closing off the eyes.
These are fired from weapons that look like paintballs guns.
Batons
The LAPD and California Highway Patrol have used batons made of either wood, metal or polycarbonate to strike demonstrators.
Night sticks are among the oldest tools in law enforcement when it comes to crowd control and making arrests of hostile people.
Flash bangs (stun grenades)
Used by both the military and the police, flash bangs explode with both a blinding flash and a deafening boom.
The aim is to disorient targets.
