Police riot

The term police riot is used to categorize a confrontation between police (or similar military or security force) and civilians, where police used wrongful, disproportionate, unlawful, and/or illegitimate force against those civilians; in plain language, the act of police attacking innocent civilians. The term can also describe a riot by civilians caused or instigated by police (e.g. an agent provocateur). The term is not generally used by public officials, as it strongly implies that police officers have crossed the line into criminal activity.

Recently the term has been applied to events such as the Seattle W.T.O. protests, where police clad in riot gear used clubs, tear gas and projectiles to disperse groups of peaceful protesters. In such situations, views of civilians and police officers often differ widely as to the legitimacy of the police violence; in extreme situations, police riots have been known to trigger reprisal violence and the breakdown of public order, such as during the Soweto Uprising in South Africa.

Police 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, police also carry deadly weapons and a privileged authority, and so have a special responsibility to keep control of themselves and their fellow officers, especially since a breach in relations between police and civilians can make their jobs impossible and lead to more widespread violence. Training and expectations of police accountability can help prevent unneeded violent behavior by police.

History

United States

Haymarket Riot

During the early years of 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 the occasion for the coining of the term "police riot."^[1]

Vietnam War protests

During the Vietnam War, anti-war demonstrators frequently clashed with police, who were equipped with billy clubs and tear gas. The demonstrators claimed that the attacks were unprovoked; the authorities claimed the demonstrators were rioting. The most notorious of these assaults, which was shown on television and which included national television reporters in the mayhem, 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 by the Walker Report to the US National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence.

Tompkins Square Park police riot

In August 1988, a riot erupted in Tompkins Square Park in the Lower East Side New York when police, some mounted on horseback, attempted to enforce a newly passed curfew for the park. Bystanders, artists, residents, homeless people, reporters, and political activists were caught up in the police action that took place during the night of August 6-7. Videotape evidence, provided by onlookers and participants, showed seemingly-unprovoked violent acts by the police, as well as a number of officers having covered up or removed their names and badge numbers from their uniforms. The footage was broadcast on local television, resulting in widespread public awareness. In an editorial The New York Times dubbed the incident a "police riot."^[2] The incident became known as the Tompkins Square Park Police Riot.

Other

There have also been cases in which a police riot involved only factions of the police. One recorded incident was the 1857 clash, during the mayoral administration of Fernando Wood, between the New York City Police Department and 300 police workers occupying City Hall in a protest in which 52 police officers were injured.^{[citation needed]} Another "near riot" supposedly occurred in an incident during the mayoral campaign of Rudolph Giuliani, who has been accused of inciting a crowd of police officers demanding more support from City Hall.^{[citation needed]}

United Kingdom

Battle of the Beanfield

During an attempt to enforce an exclusion zone around Stonehenge, Wiltshire, in 1985, the police entered the field where the so-called Peace Convoy were being detained and began smashing the vehicles and beating the occupants.^[3] The travellers eventually sued the Wiltshire police force for wrongful arrest, assault and criminal damage.^[4]

See also

• Black Act
• Demonstration (people)
• Police
• Police brutality
• Black bloc
• Hooliganism
• Street fighting
• Stonewall riots
• White Night riots: After the Dan White verdict prompted rioting at San Francisco City Hall, police attacked the Castro district, two hours later and a mile away.
• WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity
• 2008 Republican National Convention: Police raids and arrests

External links

• account of a police riot
• Cedar Avenue Valentines Police Riot
• skullthump.com: a collection of videos from riots as posted on YouTube

References