WRL's Facing Tear Gas campaign condemns in the strongest terms the Albuquerque Police Department's heavily militarized response to protests against police brutality this past Sunday night, March 30th. We also share in the protestor's shock over the APD's March 16th shooting of James Boyd - the 23rd such killing by the APD since 2012 according to the Associated Press. Among the fully militarized gear of the Bernalillo County SWAT Team - which many protesters described as clear "police state" material - was suffocating tear gas made by Defense Technology (owned by Safariland) which has long supplied governments around the world with chemical weapons and tools of repression, including in Turkey and Mexico. Roberto Rosales of Albuquerque Journal, who took the picture above on the 30th, appropriately commented that this revived "memories of Iraq." To take action see this petition and facebook page.
