Police call tear-gassed Polish lawmaker a protest threat
Police use tear gas against an opposition lawmaker, Barbara Nowacka, as protesters block a major thoroughfare in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday Nov. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)Polish police said Sunday that an officer who sprayed tear gas into the face of a member of parliament during a protest probably did so because he perceived the politician as a threat. An officer sprayed Barbara Nowacka, a center-left opposition lawmaker, in the face with the gas as she held out her parliamentary identity card to show him Saturday night. The incident occurred during a protest in Warsaw, the capital, against a restrictive abortion ruling. Nowacka was one of several lawmakers who attended the protest to monitor events after police used force and tear gas against protesters at other recent demonstrations.