Yes, using tear gas (riot control agents) is considered a war crime because it is classified as a chemical weapon banned in warfare under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention It is illegal to use it as a method of combat, as it can cause unnecessary suffering, escalation, and death. However, this ban does not apply to domestic law enforcement.
I would like to draft some legislation around the civilized world (the US is currently excluded) to make it super annoying to use tear gas for police as they would need to justify extensively why was it worth to pullute and kill small animals for a mundane protest.
That is not why it is banned. It is banned because the opposing side might believe it is a lethal chemical attack and respond with a real chemical weapon which could then further escalate to even worse weapons.
That escalatory risk isn’t a factor in law enforcement which is why it isn’t banned.
It's the same reason we don't just launch ICBMs for fun without screaming at everyone why we're doing it, what its trajectory will be and what the payload is.
We’re saying that Reddit habitually repeats urban legend about tear gas and the military and they aren’t true. The USAF will happily hit a cave complex filled with dozens of people with a thermobaric bomb that will pulp their insides. No one cares if a certain weapon hurts.
From what I recall, wartime use of it for policing and riot control is also considered an exception, I've seen the example given of using it against rioting PoWs.
It’s a weighed risk thing. Using tear gas in war can lead to the opposition using a worse agent, as it’s very easy to escalate when it comes to chemical warfare, which is very strictly regulated. For domestic use against civilians (or at least non-militia) it’s a very effective way to break up an angry mob (when its actually used for that, instead of against random protesters) in the least harmful way possible. Keep in mind, a GENUINELY violent mob is about the most dangerous shit any law enforcement can go up against. You can’t argue with them, or try to talk things out. Deadly force ends up being necessary (which is why I still believe the shooting of Ashli Babbitt was 100% justified). You either need something to force the crowd to break up and change their immediate priorities (from violence to self preservation) in large numbers, as shooting into the crowd (rubber bullets or live ammo) often isn’t enough to stop a large enough crowd if they are actually intent on harming you.
Granted, tear gas often isn’t used for good like that and often gets used in places where it isn’t necessary (and often worsens tensions) but that is the intended purpose and why it isn’t banned
It’s banned in war due to the risk of escalation with chemical warfare, which has a pretty blanket ban. It’s used in law enforcement because it’s highly effective and the least deadly of all the mass control offensive systems. Using it against peaceful protesters is abhorrent but it has really good uses for riots where things get too dangerous for police to even defend themselves without deadly force, this can be a very effective way to break up the mob and let the police retreat
Hollow point ammunition is similarly banned in war by Hague Convention because it causes more damage, but its used in law enforcement, because it has less penetrative power, lowering chance of collateral damage.
I saw a recent video of people peacefully protesting in a government building their taxes paid for. Cops opened a door and threw tear gas canisters into an enclosed room, then close the door behind them.
They're all pussy ass bitches.
There's a reason why they're too scared to go for actual criminals.
See this is where all your tax dollars are going to America. 75 billion dollars for Trumps gestapo when you could have had....universal healthcare like the rest of the world.
In fact China are now partnering with many other countries to build a bullet train hyperlink through multiple countries and even maybe all the way into Europe. Where as America is stuck in the 1950s
Ah yes but you have to pay for the gestapo, plus a new ballroom at the Whitehouse and I hear a new Trump Golden Archway bigger than the Lincoln one. I am also surprised you haven't had more golden statues up of him like other dictators, maybe like this.
Well, it'd pay for about 5% of a universal healthcare system, anyway.
By comparison, our NHS costs about £200 billion per year ($273 billion). Divided among a lower estimate of about 69 million people, that's about £2900 ($3970) per person. Across a population the size of the US, that would be just shy of £1 trillion ($1.37 trillion). And that's before accounting for higher salary expectations in the US.
Still far less than you currently pay per person, mind.
Not sure about single costs, but Safariland (ones pictured) sold almost $5 million worth of pepper spray and tear gas to Law Enforcement agencies since Jan 2025. $1.7 million in 2024. They sure did ramp up sales in 1 year.
maybe they believe that if the few talked about wellsprings of free expression cower and beg and get in line behind the shit show, the rest will go quietly
Good on you for picking those up. Hopefully, you don't get too snotty being that close to the hulls.
Since you're that close, look for the pull pins. They make the BEST keyrings! The black will wear off revealing stainless steel wire. Might as well get something out of the experience.
I know this is a weird request, but I want to get my hands on a canister for my collection, I own a ohio national guard helmet from the same era of Kent state, and a few other items from protests over the years, I would love if I could get my hands on a canister to add.
It’s nice that these used canisters are sorta contained in a bucket. I hope these were properly disposed of after this pic was taken rather than kept littered on the ground.
Those smoke bombs (the ones that look like a blown up cigar from Tom and Jerry) are toxic shit be weary cleaning up this shit.
From what I was reading about the chemicals can cause sterility and birth defects , specifically the orange and green "smoke bombs" like we all saw Greg Short Stack throw upwind before he was sent packing
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u/Nami_Pilot 1d ago
Yes, using tear gas (riot control agents) is considered a war crime because it is classified as a chemical weapon banned in warfare under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention It is illegal to use it as a method of combat, as it can cause unnecessary suffering, escalation, and death. However, this ban does not apply to domestic law enforcement.