City Council adopts exemption to chemical munitions ban

The Olympia City Council on Tuesday approved exemptions to its resolution banning the Olympia Police Department from using chemical munitions for crowd control in all but the most severe circumstances.

Officers have been allowed to use tear gas and other projectiles to break up groups of three or more people committing criminal mischief such as property damage since the council voted July 7 to reinstate the practice following a string of late-night vandalism events.

City Manager Jay Burney gave a brief update on those incidents on Tuesday, saying some coordinated acts of vandalism are now occurring in broad daylight. Regional law enforcement partners have teamed up with OPD for additional patrols of targeted areas, which have resulted in at least seven arrests to date.

The initial council resolution limiting the use of chemical munitions passed in June following warnings from public health officials against causing additional respiratory distress during a public health emergency. The resolution limited the use of items such as tear gas and pepper spray to hostage situations or instances of violence where persons are at risk of severe injury for the duration of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The action item codifying the exemption for criminal mischief was initially part of the consent agenda Tuesday, before Council member Renata Rollins asked for it to be pulled for a standalone vote. She cast the lone vote against the resolution.

This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 2:02 PM.