Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden are asking the Government Accountability Office to immediately conduct a review to examine the safety of rubber bullets they say are being used against those participating in civil rights protests.
A release said the requests come on the heels of public reporting that indicates there have been serious injuries from the use of the projectiles to control and disperse protests occurring across the country in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
A letter from Oregon’s senators, along with a group of around ten others, said “although intended to only cause minimal harm, such weapons may cause significant injury, including deep bruises, broken bones and respiratory damage, which may increase susceptibility to COVID-19 for those exposed to tear gas”. The letter said better information is needed to identity deficiencies in the training and use of these less-lethal weapons in real-life situations by Federal law enforcement.
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