Tears in Jamestown: A Pennsylvania company’s role in the global tear gas trade
Why a western Pa. company that's become a major player in the global tear gas trade is also embroiled in a legal battle with neighbors of its manufacturing facilities.
Listen 16:10
Migrants run from tear gas launched by U.S. agents, amid photojournalists covering the Mexico-U.S. border, after a group of migrants got past Mexican police at the Chaparral crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2018. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
The use of tear gas has evolved over the past century from a wartime weapon to a crowd dispersal tool to, some say, a cover for lethal force. Combined Systems, Inc., a tear gas manufacturer in western Pennsylvania has become a provider to security forces around the world and is now a major player in the global tear gas trade. On this episode of The Why, reporter Jen Kinney describes why the company is also embroiled in a legal battle with the neighbors of its manufacturing facilities in Jamestown, Pa.
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