San Francisco committee adopts amendments to ban tear gas, rubber bullets in most crowd-control situations; item continued for meet-and-confer

The Public Safety & Neighborhood Services Committee on May 27 adopted amendments to Supervisor Matt Haney's "Right to Safely Protest" ordinance and agreed to continue the item to the call of the chair to finish meet-and-confer. The ordinance would broadly prohibit San Francisco Police Department use of kinetic impact projectiles such as rubber and plastic bullets, chemical agents including tear gas and CS gas, disorientation devices such as flash-bangs and stun grenades, and military-grade equipment as crowd-control tactics except in narrowly defined circumstances.

Haney, the ordinance's sponsor, told the committee the measure grew out of last year's nationwide protests and local review of crowd-control tactics. "No one should ever now or in the future be gassed by chemicals or shot by dangerous rubber bullets or stun grenades or flash bangs when they step outside to speak against injustice," he said, framing the ordinance as aligning city law with emerging state proposals and research on injuries caused by so-called less-lethal weapons.

The amendments clarifying the ordinance's findings and operative sections delete a prior, narrower reference to "lawful assemblies" and expand the prohibition to most situations where SFPD would deploy the listed devices, while allowing limited exceptions where there is an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury and other strict requirements are met. For weapons that remain permitted in rare cases (for example certain extended-range impact weapons and less-lethal options such as beanbag rounds), the ordinance requires officers to assess whether lower levels of force are feasible, to rely on de-escalation and warnings, to target individuals engaged in violent criminal conduct rather than dispersing weapons indiscriminately, and to comply with medical-assessment and reporting obligations.

Haney also described reporting and transparency requirements: if chemical agents or extended-range impact weapons are used as a crowd-control tactic or during a riot (as defined in state law), SFPD must provide a written report to the Police Commission within 10 days, and departments must track injuries and use data collection tied to any resulting injuries. Haney said the legislation was shaped by input from SFPD leadership, medical experts and community organizations.

Public comment drew roughly a dozen callers, many representing advocacy organizations, unions and medical or legal groups. Wesley Saver of Glide told the committee the weapons "are ubiquitous with gross police misconduct" and urged support; researchers and clinicians cited investigations documenting head and eye injuries tied to kinetic projectiles. Supporters also pressed the city to invest in alternative public-safety responses and community-based teams.

At the committee's conclusion, Haney moved to adopt the amendments and to continue the ordinance to the call of the chair so he could finish meet-and-confer. The committee (Vice Chair Katherine Stephanie, Member Matt Haney and Chair Gordon Marr) voted aye on both the amendments and the continuance (three ayes reported). The item will return after Haney completes additional consultations with affected stakeholders.

What happens next: the item will be scheduled for a future committee meeting at the chair's discretion after Haney completes meet-and-confer; the ordinance text and any further amendments will be publicly posted for review before a future hearing.