Letter: Mayor should be only one to authorize tear gas use to the editor FacebookTwitterEmail FILE. Letter writer says, 'The council should designate the mayor as the person required to authorize the use of tear gas in any instance.' (Will Waldron/Times Union)Will Waldron/Albany Times Union In late March, following Common Council approval, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan endorsed the report of the city’s Policing Reform and Reinvention Collaborative. Agreement on implementing the report’s recommendations concerning the police use of tear gas remains elusive, however. The collaborative's report draws together the conclusions of several working groups. One group calls for outright elimination of the use of tear gas. Another expresses concern about the chemical agents used by the police and recommends clarifying the justification for using tear gas while limiting its use to certain areas.