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.
From boots to barriers, here’s what stood out for patrol and emergency response situations
Communication with organizers before, during and after events can help head off problems
Automated less-lethal technologies may relieve officers of their most difficult decisions
The 18-year-old says she received the letter from her town’s mayor several days after organizing the rally
Having access to protective face masks is key to ensuring officer safety
The ruling puts journalists and legal observers on the level of demonstrators during dispersal orders
Marchers on Wednesday night were calm and peaceful following Tuesday night’s fatal shootings
Agents will be pulled from fraud and organized crime teams to focus on violent and federal crimes committed during the unrest, officials said
A special response team is exposed to gases in training to prepare them for civil unrest response
Police said they held back because they didn’t want to escalate a volatile situation
The crowd threw bottles at cops and put metal bars in the street to try to damage police vehicles, officials said
The teenager was caught on cellphone video opening fire in the middle of the street
About 300 people hurled rocks and bottles at officers and set three fires to sides of the building, police said
Hundreds of protesters defied a curfew, threw bottles and shot fireworks at law enforcement guarding the courthouse
One officer suffered a concussion and third-degree burns, officials said
The violence started Sunday night and lasted into the predawn hours of Monday
The incident was captured on video, leading some community members to condemn the shooting as unjustified
At one point a standoff between demonstrators and officers took place along a planned march
The mayor ordered police to stop using plainclothes officers in unmarked cars and to stop wearing camouflage at protests
A group of about 100 hurled rocks and bottles at federal agents who were trying to disperse the crowd, police said
Supporters of the tactic say kettling helps police control a space, while critics say it can become dangerous if there’s no way for people to escape
A protest against the Seattle Police Officers Guild erupted into violence Sunday night
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot praised city police for “fairly quickly” settling weekend protests that devolved into violent skirmishes
Rioters threw “softball size” rocks, glass bottles and other objects at officers, police said on Twitter
U.S. Border Patrol Officers had to force their way through a crowd to get to two men detained by agents inside a bus
42 people have been charged with felonies in connection with looting along the city’s premier retail street overnight Sunday, officials said
The Oregon State Police was assigned to help protect a federal courthouse that’s been the target of protests
Some in the crowd set a fire and exploded commercial grade fireworks; several officers were injured
Police say they have made over 100 arrests since looters swept through downtown Sunday night
The crowd was protesting a series of fatal officer-involved shootings by the cop
Demonstrators threw objects and pointed strobe lights at officers
Police responded to shut down the party, which had between 300 and 400 attendees
Gov. Phil Murphy tightened social gatherings limits after the state saw an increase in COVID-19 cases among young people
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