Rethinking Police Response to Mass Demonstrations

Question 1

According to the FBI, how many homicides occurred in 2020?

Answer 1

Over 21,500.

Question 2

What model should officers be trained in when facing complex situations in demonstrations?

Answer 2

Critical Decision-Making model

Question 3

What is the “escalated force model” police used to address demonstrations in the 1960’s?

Answer 3

Police showed dominant force early on to deter criminality and civil disobedience.

Question 4

What is the “negotiated management model” police used to address demonstrations in the 1970’s?

Answer 4

Police officers were trained to see themselves as helping people facilitate their 1st Amendment rights.

Question 5

What was the watershed moment that police reverted back to an escalated force model during protests?

Answer 5

Seattle WTO in 1999

Question 6

What should all commanders know to be prepared to handle large-scale demonstrations?

Answer 6

Incident Command System (ICS) and National Incident Management System (NIMS.)

Question 7

What does ICS and NIMS provide leaders?

Answer 7

Standardized vocabulary, structure and approach to handle a wide range of incidents.

Question 8

According to PERF, should flash bangs be used in demonstrations?

Answer 8

No. Not at all

Question 9

What are the five elements of the Critical Decision Making Model?

Answer 9

1. Collect Information
2. Assess Situation
3. Consider police powers and policy
4. Identify options and best course of action.
5. Act, review and re-asses.

Question 10

What were the three crisis of 2020, per Chuck Wexler?

Answer 10

1. COVID 19
2. George Floyd protest
3. Spike in homicide and shootings

Question 11

Why were the demonstrations of 2020 especially difficult for police to manage?

Answer 11

Because police conduct was the focus of the demonstrations.

Question 12

How many major recommendations did PERF make about responding to demonstrations?

Answer 12

Nine

Question 13

What is the #1 recommendation in the PERF report?

Answer 13

Reinventing the role of community. Police must rethink how they engage the community regarding demonstrations.

Question 14

What is the main benefit to involving community membes as observers at protests?

Answer 14

It avoids the us-vs-them mentality

Question 15

What are the benefits of providing the public with daily incident reports?

Answer 15

• Demonstrates Transparency
• Helps keep peaceful bystanders away from volatile situations

Question 16

What platforms should be used to communicate with demonstrators?

Answer 16

• Whatever platforms the demonstrators are using themselves.
• Local Media.

Question 17

Recommendation #2 says what about communication within the chain of command?

Answer 17

Police need to do a better job at communicating things like goal, tactics, and tools that are acceptable up and down the chain of command.

There should be concrete guidelines about appropriate and inappropriate responses to different types of behavior.

Question 18

Recommendation #3 says what about training officers and supervisors adequately?

Answer 18

Recommendation #3 says what about training officers and supervisors adequately?

Question 19

What mindset should be cultivated among officers who respond to demonstrations?

Answer 19

That they are “facilitating” the protest, rather than “policing” it.

Question 20

Recommendation #4 says police should re-engineer how they think about less lethal weapons. How?

Answer 20

• There is currently little information about the capabilities, limitations, and risks of most less lethal systems beyond what the manufacturers say about them.
• The Justice Department should conduct thorough research on this topic and develop strong policy guidelines.

Question 21

When should CS gas or chemical irritants be deployed?

Answer 21

Only to address a public safety concern like acts of violence or rioting.

Question 22

What does PLAN stand for in relation to less lethal force?

Answer 22

Proportionate, Lawful, Accountable, Necessary.

Question 23

What does Recommendation #5 say about communicating with crowds of protesters?

Answer 23

Crowds need to be warned before deploying less lethal munitions and given specific instructions on what they should do, with a deadline for that action.

We want to avoid situations where crowds are subject to force because they didn’t understand what they needed to do or didn’t have adequate time to do it.

Question 24

Are live announcements or recordings preferred when communicating with groups of protestors?

Answer 24

Live announcements. They’re more humanizing and less intimidating, apparently.

Question 25

What does recommendation #6 say about Mass Arrests?

Answer 25

They should be avoided or minimized.

Unnecessary arrests give the impression that the police are suppressing free speech and they take officers away from more important tasks on the front line.

Question 26

What did recommendation #7 say about mutual aid agreements?

Answer 26

• Agencies should have them in place before they’re needed.
• They should be clear that officers from assisting agencies must abide by the policies and practices of the host agency.

Question 27

Recommendation #8 says it’s important to prioritize officer safety, health, and wellness for what reasons? (beyond the obvious)

Answer 27

Officers who are burnt out and over-stressed make poor decisions.

Agencies should plan for the logistics of getting food and water to officers in the field, ensure officers have appropriate PPE, and have rotating schedules ready to allow personnel adequate rest.

Question 28

How can agencies incorporate considerations for officers’ emotional health?

Answer 28

• Create systems that promote officer health and wellness.
• Train officers not to “take it personally”.
• Provide ongoing emotional support services and peer support.

Question 29

According to recommendation #9, how should responses to demonstrations be reviewed?

Answer 29

Robustly, in both daily briefings during the event and after the fact.

They should also incorporate feedback from the agency internally and from the community.

Question 30

Why did traditional forms of working with community leaders stop working in 2020?

Answer 30

Social media has allowed many protest groups to function, more or less, without leaders.

Question 31

What was the most controversial issue during the 2020 demonstrations?

Answer 31

The use of less lethal munitions.

Question 32

What is the #1 recommendation, the most important one, made in the perf demonstration report?

Answer 32

Police must rethink how they engage the community during demonstrations.

Should invite community leaders to participate in police meetings and trainings.

Question 33

How many protests occurred in the summer of 2020?

Answer 33

From May 25 to Jul 31, 8700 protests across 68 cities and counties.

Question 34

How many of the 2020 protests were peacful?

Answer 34

51% peaceful, 42% had unlawful activity and 7% were violent.

Question 35

What is the research arm of DOJ?

Answer 35

National Institute of Justice

Question 36

According to Perf and demonstrations, what is PLAN for less lethal tools?,

Answer 36

Proportional
Legal authority
Accountability
Necessary

Question 37

What are the nine PERF recommendations for demonstrations?

Answer 37

1. Community (invite to training and planning)
2. Communication (up and down police line)
3. Train (officers and supervisors)
4. Less Lethal (how it is used)
5. Warn (give demonstrators a warning before less lethal)
6. Mass Arrests (bad)
7. Mutual Aid
8. Ofc Wellness
9. Robust review (of each demonstration.)