In a 5-4 vote at a special meeting Tuesday, Berkeley City Council rejected an item that would have repealed a 2020 ban on the use of tear gas by police. The resolution, authored by District 1 Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani, would have reinstated the ability of the Berkeley Police Department’s Special Response Team to use tear gas for critical, life-threatening incidents only. Further, the item lifted the suspension on the use of smoke and Oleoresin Capsicum spray. The City Council had approved a ban on the use of tear gas and a moratorium on the use of OC spray in 2020. However, this resolution would lift that ban, while maintaining the prohibition on the use of tear gas for crowd control. More than 30 individuals made public comments during the special meeting. All were in opposition to the reinstatement of tear gas, except for a police officer who expressed his support for the resolution. He noted that tear gas is an industry-standard tool that gives police teams more options in em...