Philadelphia's police commissioner further explained the use of force on Monday, adding that protests moving onto the freeway are 'no longer deemed peaceful.' PHILADELPHIA - Tear gas was used as “a means to safely diffuse a volatile and dangerous situation” when protesters spilled onto an interstate highway in the heart of Philadelphia just before a curfew took effect, the city's police commissioner said.
Police also fired nonlethal bullets into the crowd and halted traffic during the Monday evening rush hour, and more than two dozen people were arrested during ongoing protests following George Floyd's death and other recent racially-charged killings.