Police riot

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A police riot is a term for the alleged wrongful, disproportionate, unlawful and illegitimate use of force by a group of police against a group of civilians.

It often describes a situation where police, clad in riot gear such as armor, helmets, padded knee and elbow protectors, and face shields, encounter a group of civilians, such as a protest group, which is not engaged in violent behavior, but is deemed by police or police supervisors to pose a threat to public safety, and is attacked by police.

In an encounter such as this, violence often ensues. This violence, perpetrated or provoked by police or other military and security force personnel, may run the gamut from simple assault, battery, assault with a deadly weapon, mayhem, even homicide. If the riot is caused by or incited by police action, it can be labelled as a "police riot." This term is considered somewhat provocative, as it is the job of the police and similar authorities to be keepers of the peace, and not inciters of riots.

Police, whose duty it is to enforce the law and prevent violent conflict, are subject to the same crowd psychology as any other group of armed men and women when in large confrontational groups, in encounters whose outcome is uncertain, and when in the grip of fear, anger, or other strong emotion. However, they are also provided with deadly weapons, and so have a special responsibility to keep their fear, anger, and similar emotions under control.

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[edit] History

[edit] United States

During the early years labor union organizing, police violence was frequently used in efforts to quell protesting workers. One notable incident took place in May 1884, when police killed four striking workers at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. in Chicago. The following day, a peaceful demonstration in Haymarket Square erupted in violence when a bomb was thrown, killing eight policemen — an event known as the Haymarket Riot. Fifty years later, in July 1934, police in San Francisco were involved in several encounters with striking longshore workers. After two picketers were killed, the other area unions joined together and called a general strike of all workers (the "Big Strike"). Subsequent criticism of the police was probably where the term "police riot" was first coined.[1]

During the Vietnam War, anti-war demonstrators were routinely attacked by police using billy-clubs and teargas. The most notorious of these assaults took place during the August 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which was the scene of massive anti-war street protests. The actions of the police were later described as a "police riot", in the Walker Report to the US National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence.

In August 1988, a riot erupted in Tompkins Square Park in New York when police, some mounted on horseback, brutally attempted to enforce a newly-passed curfew for the park. Bystanders, artists, residents, homeless people and political activists were caught up in the police action that took place during the night of August 6-7. In an editorial, The New York Times dubbed the incident a "police riot",[2] and it became known as the Tompkins Square Park Police Riot.

There have also been cases, such as the 1857 clash between the New York City Police Department and 300 police workers occupying City Hall in a protest in which 52 police officers were injured, where a police riot involved only the police. This occurred while Fernando Wood was mayor.

[edit] See also

[edit] Riot weaponry

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Walker, Samuel (1977). {{{title}}}. Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington Books, 147. ISBN 978-0669012927. 
  2. ^ "Yes, a Police Riot," editorial of The New York Times, August 26, 1988, Section A; Page 30, Column 1; Editorial Desk