Update Jan. 23, 12:43 p.m.
The Sacramento City Council did not vote on the proposed ordinance to ban certain items from protests at Tuesday's meeting.
Original story:
The Sacramento Police Department is asking the City Council to limit the things people can carry during a protest that could be used as weapons.
If an agenda item before the council is approved Tuesday, there would be restrictions on the size of lumber, pipes and chains that could be carried by people protesting.
Things such as baseball bats, glass bottles, open flames, shields, bricks, rocks and bear repellent would also be illegal to carry.
The department says its goal is public safety.
"With Ferguson, with Los Angeles, Berkeley, Oakland, there's incidents that have occurred in recent years throughout our country that have become violent," said Sacramento Police Officer Marcus Basquez.
If the council approves, the changes to the ordinance would go into effect immediately.
Sac PD cites protests in Charlottesville, Portland, and Sacramento as reasons to limit the things protesters could turn into weapons.
The proposed changes also come as the city awaits the Sacramento County District Attorney’s decision whether to prosecute officers in the shooting of Stephon Clark last March.
The department argues that, because Sacramento is the capital of California the city attracts protests and fights like the one between neo-Nazi and anti-fascist groups at the state Capitol in 2016.
"People that are wanting to exercise their First Amendment right and when doing so, they typically want to come to Sacramento to do it," Basquez said.
The department also cites the cost of damage from violent protests as a reason for the change. According to the agenda item, the 2016 brawl at the Capitol cost taxpayers $68,000.
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