Crowd Control
The Crowd Control topic focuses on the difficult task of controlling large groups of people with a limited number of police officers and resources. The police crowd control articles and tips in this section focus on strategy, policy, planning and tactics that can help quell a riled-up crowd and riot gear — helmets and shields — that will keep them safe in the process.
Law enforcement must be prepared for the worst when a controversial verdict is read, protestors become violent or a sports team wins a championship and the celebration spills to the streets.
Law enforcement agencies must carefully balance the optics of providing public safety during protests while preparing for the potential of violence
Police responses to public protests and unrest have varied over time
Different police tactics yield different responses from protesters: tactical mismatches are likely to influence escalation as well as who joins or desists from protest events
Three people sustained minor injuries
Mayor Mike Signer said the events on Aug. 12 “raised serious questions about the city’s handling of security, communications, and governance”
Their answer so far is huge officer manpower and tighter restrictions on the demonstrators
When things calmed down two hours later, eight officers had been sent to hospitals with injuries ranging from a broken hand to cuts on the face
Police used tear gas to disperse the crowds after protesters threw rocks and bottles at them
Boston Commissioner William Evans said 33 arrests had been made by Saturday night — mostly for disorderly conduct while some were for assaulting police officers
Prosecutors say if convicted, he faces a lengthy prison sentence under California’s three-strikes law
Thousands of leftist counterprotesters marched through Boston on Saturday, chanting anti-Nazi slogans and waving signs condemning white nationalism
Antifa has become one of the most prominent militant groups at protests
“If you’re sitting on a campus where this hasn’t happened, consider this your wake-up call that it might”
Violence is not free speech, so cops must be empowered with well-defined marching orders to stop protests from devolving into chaos
Saturday marked the first time in 28 years that the Virginia National Guard was deployed to quell civil unrest
Several people climbed a ladder, wrapped a strap around the statue and pulled it down
With the portable barricades, entrances are closed to traffic but can be lowered to let authorized law enforcement and delivery vehicles through
Responders went to Wegmans planning to purchase pizza, but left with donated food, chips and drinks
Charlottesville tried to move the location of the deadly “Unite the Right” alt-right rally from downtown to a larger park, but lost in court
Charlottesville residents asked whether the city and police had been properly prepared and could have prevented the deadly attack
A separate hate group that organized the initial rally pledged on social media to organize future events that would be “bigger than Charlottesville”
James Alex Fields Jr. of Ohio faces charges of second-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding, and one count related to leaving the scene
During an April 6 demonstration, students and others ignored temporary barriers and blocked entrances to a building where Heather MacDonald was scheduled to speak
Yvonne C. Felarca, 47, was arrested Tuesday on charges of inciting and participating in a riot and assault likely to cause great bodily injury
Police officials say they opted not to make any arrests so tensions would not escalate
One officer was injured and two police cruisers were damaged
Dane Powell pleaded guilty in April to felony rioting and assault on a police officer
She hopes her experience as a black woman whose life was saved by police at a Black Lives Matter protest helps bridge the gap
An officer was hurt when he was shot in the forearm by a stun gun
Black-hooded protesters attacked a police vehicle with bottles and bricks, breaking its window
200 protesters began marching and at one point, staged a die-in
The ACLU says LEOs acted improperly by using OC spray and flashbangs without warning or justification, among other actions
Twenty-five squad cars were sent to break up the party, but police were outnumbered