Pittsburgh police say tear gas, in fact, was used to disperse East Liberty protest crowd - TribLIVE

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Pittsburgh police on Tuesday said they did, in fact, use tear gas to disperse agitators who splintered off from a peaceful protest in East Liberty the night before, contrary to what city and police officials said at a news conference on Monday night.

Asked specifically about crowd control, police escalation and whether tear gas was used Monday night, SWAT Officer Stephen Mescan said: “In regards to crowd munitions that are used to help manage or control a crowd, were they used tonight? No, they weren’t. We did use gas on Saturday night, which you all saw.”

Mayor Bill Peduto called the 11 p.m. news conference after complaints and allegations surfaced online by protesters and observers suggesting police used excessive force on peaceful protesters.

“Tonight, we used smoke as a crowd-management tool, a psychological diversion tool for the crowd because their interactions with us since Saturday — and some of these people are repeat individuals — anticipated the deployment of smoke along with chemical munitions,” Mescan told reporters about escalation tactics and whether tear gas was used. “The reaction we got was immediate flight into the neighborhoods.”

Earlier in the briefing, Narcotics and Vice Cmdr. Jason Lando gave a chronological account of his experience with the protest group, which police said marched peacefully through the neighborhood for hours before actions turned violent.

From 3:30 p.m. to nearly 7 p.m., the situation consisted of a peaceful march, chants, songs and calls for justice for George Floyd, the black man killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

Lando said that as peaceful protesters began to go home, a “small group of agitators inserted themselves into the crowd” and began breaking windows of several businesses. He said the agitators began marching, at which point police called for tactical support.

At some point thereafter, Lando said, the agitators began throwing rocks at police officers at the intersection of Centre and Negley avenues, while residents on the upper floors of the nearby Essex House apartments began tossing water bottles.

He said multiple dispersal orders — he said he personally heard five of them — were given, and the group continued to throw rocks. From there, authorization was given to use smoke to disperse the crowds.

“Some people think it was tear gas,” Lando said. “It was not. It was smoke.”

Public Safety spokesman Chris Togneri told the Tribune-Review on Tuesday that when the use of smoke was mentioned, it was specifically in regard to the police actions at the intersection of Centre and Negley.

“Officials stated that no gas was used, but smoke canisters were,” he said in an email. “This is correct. Police used smoke to disperse a group that had attacked businesses, thrown objects at police and ignored multiple orders to disperse.

“After the encounter at Centre and Negley, gas was used at other locations in the East Liberty area after additional orders to disperse were issued and to aid police in their efforts to clear the streets,” he continued.

Pressed about why only smoke was mentioned in the press briefing, Togneri reiterated, “Officials were asked a question at a press briefing, and they answered it.”

The mayor’s office did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Togneri’s clarification was the first official acknowledgment outside of social media that police used tear gas and not just smoke. A tweet from the Pittsburgh Public Safety Twitter account just after 7:30 p.m. noted that a small group began breaking windows and throwing things at police. “Officers issued several orders to disperse,” according to the tweet. “Group ignored. Police used smoke and then gas to disperse group.”

Megan Guza is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Megan at 412-380-8519, mguza@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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