(PanamaNewsRoom) Tear gas canisters described as pyrotechnic grenades that should be used only by “trained personnel” can be used by any police officer in Panama.

The statement comes from Nestor Valdés, head of the national police Crowd Control Unit,  during an investigation into burning deaths at a junvenile detention center.

The manufacturers warned that the grenades could cause serious injury or death and should only be used outdoors because of their propensity to start fires.

Asked  whether or not the gas could be used indoors, Valdés,  said the agency "did not have the manuals” at the time canisters were fired into a cell at a Tocumen juvenile detention center,  causing a fire that killed five and seriously burned others.

A report by the Department of Professional Responsibility of the National made a week after the tragedy by Diana Ortega, an investigator with the department, cited warnings from the tear gas manufacturer, Defense Technology, that warns the product "should be handled with extreme care, using the advantages of the wind."

The company also describes it as a "pyrotechnic grenade" which can cause serious injury or death. The manufacturer adds that the gas should only be used by trained persons.

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Original Source: PanamaNewsRoom

Date Retrieved: March 20, 2011