Regardless of who the protestors are, the moment it becomes more than a peaceful protest teargas is a pretty safe tool compared to everything else in the arsenal. "LTL" projectiles are really nasty and easily mis-used, tasers fairly consistently produce deaths on a segment of the population with heart defects, and baton fighting is basically open melee combat.
Oh, I agree that it should be used once a riot is declared. I just think its use was probably a bit premature in DC over the summer, although I'd need to go back and review the footage myself to be sure. I can't trust the media to report incidents like this fairly anymore.
