Did KC police’s use of tear gas, pepper spray escalate tensions with protesters?

Video footage from Saturday’s demonstration at Kansas City’s Mill Creek Park to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis shows a disturbing sequence of events.

Hundreds of peaceful protesters, including children, who assembled inside the park near the Country Club Plaza were met with canisters of tear gas, pepper spray and flash-bang grenades compliments of the Kansas City Police Department.

Was excessive force used at a rally to denounce police brutality?

“We told the entire crowd that it was an unlawful assembly, and they must disperse,” Kansas City Police Chief Rick Smith said Sunday. “No one moved.”

A passionate but peaceful protest does not constitute an illegal assembly. And deploying tear gas on protesters in a public park should be a last resort — not the first line of defense.

Several witnesses told The Star Editorial Board there was no announcement to disperse, and there was no reason for officers to set off chemical agents during the protest’s early stages.

When the crowd was still calm, the officers’ actions appeared to escalate the situation, setting the tone for an increasingly tense night that led to confrontations between police and protesters.

Officers were hit with rocks, water bottles and other objects, Smith said. Although most were equipped with riot gear, “all of our officers were assaulted” Saturday night, he said.

The sworn duty of the police is to protect public safety and property against lawlessness. Officers should arrest and apprehend anybody causing mayhem and mischief. Looting and vandalizing and assaulting officers should not be tolerated.

It’s every citizen’s obligation, however righteously angered, to follow the law. And it is the job of the police to draw the line between protest and criminality. At times, officers appeared to struggle with that important distinction on Saturday.

At least 85 people were arrested Saturday, police said. And later, there was significant damage done to businesses nearby. All involved in such criminal acts should be held accountable.

But were officers ratcheting up fears and creating a more chaotic situation? Why not single out the bad actors and detain them?

Kansas City police have said they want to use the tragic, in-custody death of Floyd, an African American man from Minnesota, to teach officers what not to do during an arrest.

That’s commendable, but is this something officers still need to learn? Shouldn’t police already know that using a knee to squeeze the life out of a man as he begs for his life is wrong?

Police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes while he pleaded for help, saying, “I can’t breathe.” Chauvin was charged with third-degee murder and manslaughter. He and three other officers on the scene were fired. No other charges were filed.

Floyd’s death on Memorial Day was recorded on video. Protests throughout the country followed and intensified this weekend.

On Sunday, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas announced an 8 p.m. curfew for the Plaza area, Westport entertainment district and downtown business districts, as well as all city parks. It was to be in place until 6 a.m. Monday.

Despite the nationwide protests and condemnation of officers’ actions in Minneapolis, there has been little serious discussion about how to improve police interactions with the community, as Lucas noted Sunday. In Kansas City, there is significant work to do to strengthen those relations and build trust.

Deploying tear gas and pepper spray on peaceful protesters isn’t helpful.

Save that for the real bad guys.

This story was originally published May 31, 2020 at 4:51 PM.