Police Employ Pepper Spray on Protesters

Police found themselves employing water cannons and pepper spray in Ankara in order to prevent a march on parliament as thousands of workers protested against a legislation that could potentially strip them of hard-won rights.

Across Turkey trade unionists met at a park where they planned to reach parliament regardless of laws that prohibit demonstrations from taking place near the building.

However, the protesters were greeted by riot police who had blocked a main road which led to the building. They also utilized the self defense pepper spray as well as water cannons in a bid to push the protesters back from the area.

In response to this the demonstrators retaliated with sticks, eggs and stones.

At the moment parliament is discussing a legislation that would permit employers to move their staff to different areas against their will, which would mean that the workers instead of the employers would be financially responsible for health benefit premiums. Not only this, but it would permit employers to employ interns to work for up to four months without pay.

While these legislative discussions are indeed a worrying area for many trade unionists which saw them demonstrating outside parliament there also has to be measures put in place that prevent situations from escalating too far.

Because of this, police were employed to block off certain areas as the demonstrators approached. Furthermore, instead of using brute force on the demonstrators in what was a relatively peaceful protest, they used pepper spray and water cannons as an effective deterrent.

When it comes to protests a device that can produce maximum results in a limited time is required. As a result, this was why the spray canister and water cannons were employed. They have the ability to target a large number of people at once compared to other tools that could have been utilized.

It’s important for officers to think about people’s safety and by choosing to utilize these devices instead of lethal choices they were able to ensure the safety of all those involved. Even though the effects on the people would be quick which would prevent them from protesting further, the effects would only last temporarily giving officers plenty of time to remove those involved from the scene.