Pentagon Chief Says US National Guard Did Not Use Rubber Bullets, Tear Gas During Protests

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper during a briefing on Wednesday said no rubber bullets or tear gas were used by the National Guard during recent protests in the nation's capital

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2020) US Defense Secretary Mark Esper during a briefing on Wednesday said no rubber bullets or tear gas were used by the National Guard during recent protests in the nation's capital.

On Monday, media outlets, including Sputnik, reported that tear gas and rubber bullets were used on demonstrators near the White House who were protesting another police-related death of an African American.

"National Guard forces did not fire rubber bullets or tear gas into the crowd as reported," Esper said.

The National Guard, he added, were instructed to wear helmets and personal protective equipment for their own protection, not to serve as some form of intimidation.

On Monday, US park police also denied using tear gas during the protests near the White House.

Nicole Roussell, a Sputnik journalist in Washington, DC, said she was fired at by US police several times while covering George Floyd protests, despite saying several times she was a press staffer.

As Roussell filmed protesters "being sprayed with mace in their eyes," she was shot at with a rubber bullet on her calf.

George Floyd, a 46-year old African American man, died in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25. A video of the arrest posted online shows a white officer kneeling on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes while he laid on his stomach handcuffed. The county medical examiner ruled it a homicide and the officer involved was arrested and charged with murder.

Floyd's death sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and racism, many of which have turned into riots complete with violence, arson and looting.