Crowd Management and Protecting Civil Rights

The development of a comprehensive policy that provides detailed protocol and clear guidance to officers is essential. Departments can start by understanding and incorporating guidelines, such as those recommended by the Department of Justice. Policies must provide clear definitions and should include procedures for: officer and agency response, planning for response (incident commander), authority for the deployment of resources, conducting crowd control and management, response to crowd situations, declaring an unlawful assembly, and the proper use of approved tactics and weapons. Polices should also contain a section regarding prohibited weapons for crowd control and should contain a protocol for mass arrest procedures. Policies should contain sections regarding videotaping and photographic recording of events, as well as a mandated reporting requirement, including supplemental reports. Departments are also encouraged to review reports issued after investigations of Occupy UC Davis and Occupy Oakland to provide areas of self-analysis in operations and policy.

Issues arise, however, when mutual aid agreements are brought into play. What happens when the standards of one agency differ from the other? Whose policy is the guiding factor? If your agency, for example, precludes a specific use of force that a responding agency does not, can that department use that method? These are questions that department managers must ask themselves when drafting or revising their policies.

Agencies should also examine the challenges associated with mass arrests and the best methods for handling such actions. A flash mob, for example, could quickly lead to a situation where hundreds of people are being arrested. How will departments transport them, hold them, process them, and provide them with bathroom facilities and food? Who will handle the collection of police reports to support the arrest and work with the court to have them arraigned? Finally, but most important, what force will be authorized and in what manner will it be used? Again, these are all vital areas that must be addressed in a department’s policy and operational plan.

Training officers on the agency policy is always important to protect agencies and officers from liability. Officers must have a clear understanding of the law, the individual policy, and the department’s mission objectives. Most
officers have no idea what the basis of a First Amendment violation is, or how their actions can cause one. Training must also focus on the fact that officer discipline and restraint is an essential component in successfully managing crowds. Furthermore, crowd management training should include a review of department policy and procedures, arrest and control techniques, use of force standards, mass arrests, and less-lethal application.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Police agencies, realizing the necessity for a closer look at this issue, have created guidelines for departments and officers to utilize when evaluating the effectiveness and adequacy of their crowd control policies. One such agency, the Unites States Department of Justice, divides its guidelines into three areas: The Pre-Event Stage, which discusses how law enforcement will plan for an event or demonstration where First Amendment protections are involved. The Operational Stage, which focuses on how law enforcement will respond to the event. And the Post-Event Stage, which addresses how and whether information obtained as a result of the event (both during the Pre-Event Stage and Operational Stage) will be evaluated, disseminated, retained, or discarded, as per agency policy.

During a protest, rally, or other large group gathering, the role of law enforcement officers is to ensure the public’s safety, protect lives and property, and protect the First Amendment rights of all persons involved in the events. On occasion these goals come into conflict during an active protest or rally. Officers are charged with the task of maintaining order, peace, and safety of individuals at protests or other public gatherings, while respecting and protecting the individuals’ First Amendment rights. Such a task creates great challenges for the officers and requires a careful balancing act on the part of the officers and their departments.

Departments should also have an operational plan in place for incident documentation, which is an important aid when addressing complaints and preparing civil litigation defense. Incident documentation includes: audio, video, photography, reports, dispatch tapes, use of force reports, arrest reports, and after-action reports.

Protesting and demonstrations will continue, and flash mobs will increase.

Advances in technology have provided protest and rally participants with invaluable tools to spread information to a greater number of individuals in a short period of time, resulting in larger, more informed crowds. Waiting to plan accordingly for a proper response until you receive the call that a crowd has gathered will clearly leave your officers and agency exposed.