Exclusive: Days after it was revealed that D.C.'s top military police officer was looking for a 'heat ray' to control protesters, NPR has learned a government watchdog has already opened an inquiry into federal tactics during the demonstrations.
U.S. Park Police and other federal officers held a perimeter near the White House on June 1, 2020 as demonstrators gathered to protest the killing of George Floyd.Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., requested the independent review in early June, just days after federal police cleared peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square, outside the White House, with tear gas and smoke. The GAO, a non-partisan government watchdog, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee in a
The ADS is a kind of 'heat ray' device that when aimed at an individual gives the sensation of burning skin. A spokesperson for Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region, or JFHQ-NCR, confirmed to NPR that the command made the request on June 1, but he said that it came"as a matter of due diligence and prudent military planning" and the command never secured the system.
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