Berkeley Council To Hold Special Meeting On Suspending Tear Gas Ban

BERKELEY, CA — Berkeley city council will hold a special meeting Thursday night on whether to suspend a ban on tear gas, smoke and pepper spray.

The city said the meeting will be held at 8:15 p.m. Thursday, where the topic of discussion will be the city manager's request to suspend the ban for the duration of the city council's summer recess.

The ban was enacted in June 2020.

Click here to see the council's agenda and here to watch the meeting via Zoom.

The meeting comes as the city grapples with recent clashes between protesters and police at People's Park.

UC Berkeley said in a statement Wednesday it would suspend work on converting the historic park into housing “due to the destruction of construction materials, unlawful protest activities and violence on the part of some."

Cal spokesperson Kyle Gibson said in the statement that law enforcement and all construction crews left the park over safety concerns. The university reportedly asked for help from the California Highway Patrol, California State University police and its other campuses as well.

“The campus will, in the days ahead, assess the situation in order to determine how best to proceed with construction of this urgently needed student housing project,” Gibson said in the statement.

The university and the city put forth plans in 2018 to redevelop the park into long-term, supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness on university land. More than 1,000 student housing units were also planned.

Clashes with police came early Wednesday, as protesters reportedly shook metal fences and decried the cutting-down of old trees. Some even jumped over barriers to thwart development plans of the park, and an hourslong standoff ensued, according to the LA Times.