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Officers that used pepper spray on Black Lives Matter protesters during tense standoff in New Haven cleared in internal probe

A monthslong internal review by New Haven police has cleared of wrongdoing officers who used pepper spray on protesters that tried to enter the police headquarters in May during a tense start to weeks of protests over police killings nationwide from George Floyd in Minneapolis to Breonna Taylor in Louisville.

Chief Otoniel Reyes joined Mayor Justin Elicker in announcing the results of the internal investigation Monday, saying “every officer involved in that protest acted within the color of the law, they were professional and their behavior was consistent with the expectations of the New Haven Police Department.”

The department’s internal affairs division reviewed hundreds of hours of video to ensure that the actions of the officers were in line with the department’s values, Reyes said.