Police implied SC protesters threw chemicals at cops. It was just water and antacid

Top police officials implied that Black Lives Matter protesters had thrown a “caustic” substance at officers during May demonstrations in Columbia.

But after a Federal Bureau of Investigation lab test, police learned the “suspicious water bottles” contained only water and liquid antacid, Columbia Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons said Monday.

The confirmed contents of the bottles track with what protesters said after the demonstrations — that the substance inside was a harmless formula to lessen the effects of tear gas. Protesters had said the bottle had just water and baking soda, the latter of which can be used as an antacid.

A press release in June announcing the discovery of the “suspicious water bottles” was worded cautiously to emphasize there was no proven link between a potentially harmful substance and the protests following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. But Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook and Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott were quoted in that press release implying the protesters were using chemical weapons against police.

“This may suggest evidence of not a spontaneous or peaceful protest but an orchestrated and planned attack against law enforcement,” Holbrook said in the press release.

“This is just another example of the dangers law enforcement officers face from agitators who are not interested in peace,” Lott said in the same press release. “It’s inconceivable that anyone would think to harm officers in such a way, considering the dangers it poses to peaceful protesters as well. Bottles filled with corrosive materials are not instruments of protest. They are instruments that are designed to seriously injure those that serve to protect the right of people to protest.”

Asked if the results from the FBI lab changed his stance, Lott said through a spokeswoman: “We had officers that sustained burns from liquids that were thrown on them during the riot. That remains a fact.”

In June, police cited publicly two pieces of evidence to back up their concerns. The first was three Columbia Police Department officers who said they suffered from severe blisters after the May 30 protest, according to the original press release. The second piece of evidence was a field test showing small traces of a “substance that can be caustic to the skin,” according to the release.

The bottles were found a few blocks from the protest site, according to the original release. During the protest, a reporter for The State video-recorded tear gas being used to disburse protesters. A second reporter for The State said he was exposed to tear gas in or around the area.

Asked if police had additional pieces of evidence showing that water bottles may have contained a harmful substance, Timmons referred questions to the FBI.

FBI Columbia spokesman Donald Wood said the bureau was not the lead investigating authority and referred questions back to Columbia Police.

This story was originally published August 3, 2020 at 3:54 PM.