Austin PD: Officer's viral pepper spray use likely fell 'within policy'
The Austin Police Department late Wednesday defended an officer's use of pepper spray during Monday's anti-deportation protest.
A viral video posted to Reddit a day after the demonstration shows an Austin police officer pushing back a crowd of protesters while other officers forcibly arrested a protestor. The officer then deployed pepper spray into the scrum, dispersing the crowd.
The video sparked a furor online with many commenters condemning the officer.
Police Department spokeswoman Anna Sabana said the use of force incident was reported to the department's Force Review Unit, 'as is standard protocol.'
But she said that 'early indication shows that it does fall within policy.'
According to APD's use of force policy, pepper spray is used to 'disperse violent crowds or riots with (prior) supervisor approval.' The policy explicitly says pepper spray should not be deployed on non-violent crowds.
'As officers arrested the subjects that engaged in graffiti, the crowd closed in on them and pepper spray was used to disperse those that refused to move back after being ordered to back up,' Sabana said in a statement. 'During this time, several officers were hit by rocks that were thrown from the crowd of protestors.'
Sabana did not say when the department would make a final determination.
Local and state law enforcement deployed pepper spray and arrested over a dozen people during the downtown protest. The Austin chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation organized its 'ICE Out of Austin' protest in solidarity with Los Angeles' demonstrations against recent ICE raids.
Austin Police Chief Davis had initially said on Tuesday morning that only the Texas Department of Public Safety deployed pepper spray, not APD. She later clarified that while APD did use pepper spray, the department did not use tear gas.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin PD defends officer's pepper spray use during anti-ICE protest
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