Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) expressed gratitude to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) after the agency officially accepted her request to conduct an independent review of federal agencies’ less-lethal weapons use.
Duckworth joined a group of lawmakers requesting the GAO to assess the safety, appropriateness, and effectiveness of the weapons for crowd control purposes.
“I was deeply troubled to see ‘less-lethal’ weapons used against peaceful protestors and journalists this past summer, which is why I’m thankful that the GAO is acting on my request for independent review,” Duckworth, a combat veteran who served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years and is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), said. “These weapons can cause significant injury, including deep bruises, broken bones, and respiratory damage, even though they are intended to only cause minimal harm. Use of these weapons should be appropriate, effective, and humane, and I look forward to working with the GAO on this vital oversight to help make sure deficiencies in the training and use of these weapons in real-life situations by federal law enforcement are identified.”
The weapons include rubber bullets, electronic control weapons, tear gas, and heat rays—which the military reportedly considered using against D.C. protestors in June.