“We were just responding to a group of individuals who were adamant on having a confrontation,”
Superintendent of Police Shaun Ferguson appeared before the New Orleans City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee Thursday and defended his use of tear during a confrontation on the Crescent City Connection last week.
Ferguson’s adherence to his decision ran afoul of Councilman Jason Williams who countered the action could’ve resulted in death had someone fallen from the span.
“My immediate fear was that someone was going to either run the wrong direction because they couldn't see (because of the tear gas) or get knocked over the bridge,” Williams said.
Another bone of contention is the use of rubber bullets on the crowd.
Once again Ferguson contended the firing of rubber balls was not authorized and that the ones who fired the balls could be disciplined.
Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer weighed in with the comment: “To me, there's something that happened where all of a sudden the NOPD stopped believing they were peaceful protesters. And if we had assumed they were still peaceful and let them cross the bridge and turn around and come back, this wouldn't have happened.”
To this Ferguson put the responsibility on the protesters: “They just put everyone in a bad position by going up there, period.”
“There is no other alternative to deal with them other than this ... gas or the rubber bullets or the baton? I just want to be clear,” Councilman Jay Banks stated.
Ferguson stated he had not considered ordering his SWAT Team to not carry tear gas.