Riot control Water cannon

first german police water cannon

the first truck-mounted water cannon used riot control in germany in beginning of 1930s.

the modern versions not expose operator riot, , controlled remotely within vehicle joystick. german-built wawe 10.000 can carry 10,000 litres (2,200 imp gal) of water, can deploy water in directions via 3 cannons, of remotely controlled inside vehicle joystick. vehicle has 2 forward cannons delivery rate of 20 litres per second (260 imp gal/min), , 1 rear cannon delivery rate of 15 litres per second (200 imp gal/min)

water cannons designed riot control still made in united states , united kingdom, products exported, particularly africa , parts of asia such south korea.

safety

use of water cannon in riot control contexts can lead injury or death, fatalities recorded in indonesia (in 1996, when cannon s payload contained ammonia), zimbabwe (in 2007, when use of cannons on peaceful crowd caused panic), turkey (in 2013, when payload laced liquid teargas ), ukraine (in 2014, death of activist , businessman bogdan kalynyak, reportedly catching pneumonia after being sprayed water cannon in freezing temperatures) , south korea (in 2016, when 68 year old farmer died after injuries sustained water cannon previous year). south korea used water cannons containing capsaicin , fluorescent dyes later screening , arrest in recent protests against citizens.

water cannons in use during 1960s, adapted fire trucks, knock protesters down , on occasion, tear clothes.

on 30 september 2010, during protest demonstration against stuttgart 21 project in germany, demonstrator hit in face water cannon. dietrich wagner, retired engineer, suffered damage eyelids, , damage retinas. eye injuries inflicted on man resulted in near-complete loss of eyesight. graphic imagery recorded of event, sparking national debate police brutality , proportionality in use of state force.

according report issued in united kingdom, using plastic bullets instead of water cannon justified because latter inflexible , indiscriminate , although several people had been killed or injured plastic bullets.

media effect

the presence of media @ riots has had significant impact on water cannon use. there pressure on police departments avoid bad publicity, , water cannon play badly in press. considered reason not used more in countries.

confrontations took place in era of american civil rights movement water cannons used authorities disperse crowds of protesting african americans, has led demise of water cannon in united states.