i was talking about the reactions of police to a corrections officer i know (and hopefully hy'll post about it *hint hint nudge nudge*) and basically our police force is not trained on how to deal with protests of this magnitude and are only trained in how to deal with rioting. hence, the riot response to a peaceful protest. my question is....now that they've used riot response tactics on peaceful protesters....will they step back and start practicing tactful responses to a peaceful protest rather than the overkill we've seen up to this point? i think that's what will define which road this is going to go down. i'm afraid that the police reactions are just going to escalate the violence and i'm afraid that this is actually the point, so that they have an excuse to continue along these lines of force and brutality.
__________________
".....one of the three femmes of the apocalypse"
Ok Persi…here it is.
I am in law enforcement. Although my area is in corrections, I do understand the actions of police during their conflict with the protestors of the Occupy Movement…NO I do not agree with some of law enforcement’s behavior.
Throughout history, anytime a police force is assembled to disperse a crowd, it WAS because a riot was taking place. People’s lives were at stake by members of society, property was being destroyed, and communities were under siege.
Yes, the “Sit In” protests of the Civil Rights Movement were intended to be nonviolent in nature. However, most of those protests took place in the south, where the vast majority of the police force was white, and did not agree with the movement and had the approval of a higher authority (Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus…Alabaman Governor George Wallace) and therefore were allowed to use brute force against those peaceful protestors.
We are taught levels of force.
1. Show of Force…a large number of responding units displaying their badge of office.
2. Verbal Commands…self explanatory…orders to disperse.
3. Chemical Agents…though unpopular they are effective in dispersing a crowd without causing long term physical harm.
Those are the first 3 steps and I don’t know of ANY officer who hopes an incident will escalate from there. Law enforcement agencies have not been taught a different way to deal with true peaceful protests. They are simply following orders…if they don’t they may well lose their livelihood…their families would then suffer the repercussions. I believe that no one involved with the Occupy Movement would want that to happen. New training must be implemented to assist these officers to do their job effectively in a new way.
Here is an example of doing to what we did, what we know now, and how many agencies (where I live) have evolved to deal with people who have mental illness.
Most psychiatric hospitals were shut down in the 1970s. The thinking was that money could be saved and those who needed care could and would receive it through local community programs. What has happened is that most did not have the follow up care they needed, they were not monitored to ensure they were taking their medications properly, and fell through all the cracks. At that point, those with mental illness found themselves getting into trouble and the population in prisons and jails nationally has increased to the point where those individuals now make up 50% of all those incarcerated. Over 1.26 million people incarcerated suffer from some sort of mental illness with 20% classified as “severe”.
By and large, force was the only way anyone in law enforcement knew how to control an “unruly” person, either by a patrol officer or a corrections officer. We now receive training on how to approach these individuals, “talk them down” when they are escalating, how to speak with them in a manner in which they won’t feel threatened to be able to help them, and how not to be afraid of the term “mental illness”.
Regarding mental health disorders….we know better so we do better.
This is the case with the Occupy Movement. Law enforcement has always been called to protect the community from uprisings, to protect lives and property in those times, and as always at a danger to themselves.
We show up in riot gear because the past has taught us that we are a prime target for violence and we must protect ourselves…someone loves us too and wants us home safe. And there’s always a bad apple on any side of an issue.
I believe in the right to assemble…though I don’t think our forefathers added, “For a permit fee” into the Constitution. I believe new training must be implemented to address the Occupy gatherings in an effective manner with much less force when possible.
I believe when we know better…we do better.
|