◆ SpookStack

the demonstration going a while longer and taking (2) Police and troops, once they have been given their orders, do not care about the objective the pressure off the group under immediate attack. of a demonstration. They look only at the (See diagram) behavior of the demonstrators: is this a - crowd, or a mob, or a riot? Intelligent officers have learned that to break up a crowd an officer does well to pick random citizens off the edge and arrest them, rather than at~ 9? Main Body of Demonstrators tempting to move into the center to arrest, say, a street speaker. A crowd in motion, usually because of a leader, or because of the appear- —~ ance of a hated individual, or symbol, is a mob. ~ A riot is a disturbance by three or more persons who want to overcome any opposition to their action by lawful or unlawful means. (2) Accepted American police practices include having a plan, and acting with all the force necessary to carry out the plan. Intelligent officers do not bluff. They make their inten- tion clear to the crowd or the demonstration, allow time to clear out, and leave avenues of escape (unlike a recent Peruvian sports stadium tragedy in which gas panicked a crowd against barred doors). (3) A crowd is usually attacked opposite the direction in which police want to drive it. A skirmish line, , wedge, or diagonal line is formed across the street, and State, National Guard and Federal troops usually fix bayonets. The effort will be © to drive the crowd or demonstration away from sensitive areas, street crossings, objectives of demonstrations such as stores, and to break the crowd up into its individual units by the use of gas, “Sleeper” horses, dogs, fire-hoses, etc. Individuals can more easily be controlled and sent home than Hement larger groups. Civil rights workers, under such circumstances, may want to consider the use of _ "sleeper" elements to divert an attacking police unit by demonstrating in its rear, thereby keeping 84 ‘ 85