HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-16-2021 Advance Item - After Action Review Council Agenda Report
Department Name: Police
Cost Center: 8001
For Agenda of: February 16, 2021
Placement: Business
Estimated Time: 120 Minutes
FROM: Jeff Smith, Interim Chief of Police
Prepared By: Fred Mickel, Acting Captain
SUBJECT: AFTER ACTION REVIEW OF THE JUNE 1, 2020 PROTEST
RECOMMENDATION
Receive and file the After-Action Review of the June 1, 2020 Protest.
DISCUSSION
On June 16, 2020, Chief Cantrell gave a special presentation to the City Council regarding the
community’s request for information regarding the events on June 1, 2020. In response to
questions, the City Manager directed the Police Department staff to prepare an After-Action
Review (AAR) (Attachment A). The focus of this AAR was the events of the June 1, 2020
protest, including protestors marching on Highway 101 and law enforcement using
Chloroacetophenone (CN) gas, commonly referred to as “tear gas”. The AAR thoroughly
reviewed the event and considers what happened, why it happened, what can be done in the
future to possibly avoid similar outcomes and “lessons learned” to improve overall safety in
supporting free speech events.
The mechanism most widely utilized by the police for understanding critical incidents or events
are “After Action Reviews” (AAR’s) or “Critical Incident Reviews” (CIR’s). They are
fundamental to the development of a healthy, accountable, and community-engaged police
department. Honest and self-critical reviews of the various critical incidents or events that the
police are charged with resolving or managing is essential to maintaining the public’s trust and
confidence in the local governmental entity paid to protect it. The San Luis Obispo Police
Department (SLOPD) routinely conduct CIRs and as such it was determined they would conduct
the AAR of the June 1, 2020 protest. This AAR was guided and reviewed by Chief James
Bueermann, who is nationally recognized for his extensive work with AAR’s. Additionally, an
independent consultant, Kari Mansager, was utilized to conduct the community review portion of
the AAR.
Mr. Bueermann supervised numerous critical incident reviews and police reform efforts
involving some of the most noteworthy policing incidents in America. A few of these incidents
include: the civil unrest in Ferguson, MO; the “Christopher Dorner Incident”; the Stockton, CA
bank robbery in which a hostage was inadvertently killed by police; the Pulse Nightclub mass
shooting in Orlando, FL; and the husband-wife terrorist mass shooting in San Bernardino, CA.
Bueermann also founded Future Policing Strategies, a California-based consultancy that helps
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practitioners, policymakers, and community members envision and advance policing for the
future.
Kari Mansager, Director of Diversity, Inclusion, and Outreach at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and
independent consultant was selected by Chief Bueermann, to conduct the community review
portion of the June 1, 2020 protest AAR. Mansager’s report (Attachment A) serves as a stand-
alone addition to the San Luis Obispo Police Department’s AAR. Conducting this AAR is
indicative of SLOPD’s commitment to develop as a “learning organization” that is continually
focused on improving it policies, procedures and practices and anchoring on-going learning to its
organizational culture.
Background
The first step of this AAR was to gather background information and consider the precipitating
events that led up to the outcome on June 1, 2020. Next was the exploration of the information
gathering which led to the Police Departments' pre-event planning and preparation. Through this
information, the Police Department developed an operations plan in preparation for the protest
planned for June 1. This was largely based on past major events in the City of San Luis Obispo.
As part of this process, the department collected as many documents, videos, media reports, and
police reports that were publicly available to begin to initiate the review for the AAR. With this
information, an event summary was created to outline the protest from when it began at
approximately noon to the conclusion at 9:42 pm. Kari Mansager, conducted the community
review portion of the AAR, conducting eleven (11) interviews with June 1st protestors to obtain
their unfiltered views, perspectives, and recommendations.
The AAR team shared honest perceptions and researched and considered best practices.
Additionally, they discovered areas that could be improved on and considered community input
through the work of Ms. Mansager. The team identified action steps to ensure peaceful protests
in the future; and to lessen the likelihood that future protests would result in the use of chemical
agents, and less lethal munitions as a means of dispersal.
The final part of the AAR is the identification of issues where the San Luis Obispo Police
Department could improve. There are ten (10) action items identified in this area, many of which
align with the input and recommendations made during Ms. Mansager’s interviews and have
already been implemented. Examples include a lack of proper equipment to make a loud enough
announcement during the protest which has been resolved with the purchase of a Long-Range
Acoustic Device (LRAD). Another identified issue was the body worn camera batteries only
having a 7-8 hour run capacity on intermittent use, constant use is 3 hours max. New body worn
cameras were just approved for purchase by the City Council that have replaceable batteries and
run capacity issues should be mitigated.
Prior to finalizing the AAR, Chief Bueermann reviewed the pertinent media reports, Ms.
Mansager’s report, spoke with the Interim Police Chief and the SLOPD staff member responsible
for conducting the review, and determined that the AAR meets the generally accepted criteria.
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Lastly, while the City conducted its own AAR, on September 28, 2020, an advisory board
convened by Governor Newsom released a study titled “Protecting and Facilitating the Right to
Engage in Peaceful Protests and Demonstrations" (Attachment 4 within Attachment A) and
SLOPD is actively reviewing and evaluating this study and its recommendations. Many of the
preliminary recommendations in this study are already being followed and/or implemented by
the San Luis Obispo Police Department. Other recommendations which require subsequent
action by the state legislature, or the Police Officers Standard Testing (POST) will be monitored
and integrated as appropriate once adopted.
Previous Council or Advisory Body Action
On June 16, 2020, Chief Cantrell gave a special presentation to the City Council regarding the
community’s request for information regarding the events on June 1, 2020. The City Manager
directed the Police Department staff to prepare an After-Action Review (AAR) (Attachment A).
Policy Context
The City does not currently have any policies that govern After Action Review.
Public Engagement
For the After-Action Review (AAR), an independent consultant Kari Mansager conducted
anonymous interviews with community members to create a safe space for protest participants
and community members to provide reactions, perspectives and recommendations based on their
experiences. In addition to her consulting role, Mansager is director of Diversity, Inclusion and
Outreach at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.
Prior to the City Council’s February 16th meeting, the Police Department will review the report
with representatives from numerous community organizations through its “Police and
Community Together” (PACT) program and SLOPD Roundtable. PACT organizations
include Transitions Mental Health, St. Stephen's Episcopal, Tranz Central Coast, Diversity
Coalition of SLO County, Central Coast Commission for Inclusive Schools, JCC Federation of
SLO County, Women's March SLO, People of Faith for Justice, Elevate Christian Church,
GALA, and the Anti-Defamation League. The Roundtable includes representatives from a broad
array of community interests, from business to healthcare to industry.
Additionally, on February 4, the City is releasing the After-Action Review report by the San Luis
Obispo Police Department to the community.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The California Environmental Quality Act does not apply to the recommended action in this
report, because the action does not constitute a “Project” under CEQA Guidelines Sec. 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
Budgeted: N/A Budget Year:
Funding Identified: N/A
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Funding
Sources
Total Budget
Available
Current Funding
Request
Remaining
Balance
Annual
Ongoing Cost
General Fund $
State
Federal
Fees
Other:
Total $
It is estimated that Police Department personnel committed approximately 300 hours to prepare
the After-Action Review. James Bueermann was paid $7500.00 for his services consulting on the
After-Action Review.
There is no fiscal impact on the City’s General Fund associated with receiving and filing the
AAR. Any cost resulting from implementing recommendations included in this After-Action
Review can or have been absorbed in the Police Department’s budget.
ALTERNATIVES
Council may direct staff to conduct further analysis or collect other information to incorporate into
the After-Action Review.
Attachments:
a - Response to the June 1 2020 Protest AAR
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CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
RESPONSE TO THE JUNE 1, 2020 PROTEST
AFTER ACTION REVIEW
Community Interviews
Conducted by Kari Mansager
San Luis Obispo
Police Department
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Executive Summary Page 2
After Action Review Report Page 4
Appendix A - Definitions Page 23
Appendix B - KCOY Interview with Chief Cantrell Page 23
Appendix C - Summary of Calls Received by Dispatch Page 24
Appendix D - Tactical Deployment Page 26
Appendix E - Event Information Page 27
Appendix F - Safety Order Advisement Page 28
Appendix G - Unlawful Assembly Advisement Page 28
Appendix H - Videos of Protest From Media Sources Page 29
Appendix I - Video Review Page 30
Appendix J - Protest Route and Timeline Page 35
Community Interviews Attachment 1
Methodology Attachment 2
State Task Force Recommendations Attachment 3
Bueermann Review of AAR Attachment 4
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The San Luis Obispo Police Department believes that After Action Reviews (AAR) are critical to
organizational learning and to strengthen responses in an evolving and increasingly complex operating
environment. By honestly reflecting on past experiences, our organization can anticipate emerging
challenges, incorporate promising practices, and work collaboratively to evolve and prepare for future
events. We also believe that instilling a culture that encourages continuous learning through the
assessment and identification of best practices and lessons learned is vital to ensuring first responder and
community safety and building effective responses to major events in our City.
The focus of this AAR is to discover and review the events of June 1, 2020 that led to the crowds taking
the freeway and the necessity for law enforcement to use Chloroachetophenone (CN) gas (tear gas), why it
happened and how to sustain strengths and improve on weaknesses. (Appendix A) This AAR involves all
team members sharing honest and open perceptions and best practices and lessons learned and creating
action steps to ensure peaceful protests in the future; and to lessen the likelihood that future protests
would result in the use of chemical agents, and less lethal munitions as a means of dispersal.
To produce an AAR that adheres to the highest industry standards, an independent expert was brought in
to review and make recommendations for this report. In August 2020, James Bueermann was hired.
Bueermann is nationally recognized for his extensive work with AAR’s. He has supervised numerous
critical incident reviews and police reform efforts involving some of the most noteworthy policing incidents
in America. A few of these incidents include: the civil unrest in Ferguson, MO; the “Christopher Dorner
Incident”; the Stockton, CA bank robbery in which a hostage was inadvertently killed by police; the Pulse
Nightclub mass shooting in Orlando, FL; and the husband-wife terrorist mass shooting in San Bernardino,
CA. Bueermann also founded Future Policing Strategies, a California-based consultancy that helps
practitioners, policymakers, and community members envision and advance policing for the future.
In mid-August 2020, Kari Mansager, an independent consultant, was asked by Bueermann to conduct the
community review portion of the June 1st, 2020 protest After Action Review. Mansager’s report
(Attachment 1) serves as a stand-alone addition to the San Luis Obispo Police Department’s After Action
Review. The purpose of the interviews was to obtain the views, perspectives, and recommendations from
the community. Mansager’s report is based on interviews with eleven (11) community members who have
been given alias names and for some, no identifiable demographic information, to protect their privacy
and safety. She identified individuals to be interviewed based on print and social media accounts of the
protest. Manasager also conducted additional interviews with those referred by the original individuals
interviewed. This report was also reviewed by James Bueermann.
The first step of this AAR was to gather background information and look into what were the precipitating
events that lead up to the outcome on June 1, 2020. The main precipitation event was a protest that
occurred on May 31, 2020, that turned into a march that was not planned by the original event organizers.
Next was the exploration of the intelligence gathering which lead to the Police Departments' pre-event
planning and preparation. The intelligence gathered through social media, public tips, and various other
sources indicated that this was not going to be a peaceful protest. Through this intelligence, the Police
Department developed an operations plan in preparation for the protest planned for the next day. This was
largely based on past major events the City of San Luis Obispo had experienced.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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The protesters only had one way to disperse which was to turn around and go back, this is difficult for
crowds.
No city personnel had a relationship with the group protesting and thus no way to communicate with
them.
Lack of proper equipment to make a loud enough announcement.
Received feedback during independent interviews about early appearance of officers in riot gear during
a peaceful protest.
Lieutenants needed in the field overseeing the tactical operation.
There was insufficient sworn staffing to prevent protesters from entering the freeway.
There was insufficient civilian support staff to assist with traffic control during events.
Mutual Aid agencies assisting self-deployed and lacked sufficient direction from Command Post.
Lacked drone pilots and batteries for equipment to staff lengthy event.
Body-worn camera batteries have a 7-8 hour run capacity on internment use, constant use 3 hours
max. Cameras must be docked to recharge.
As part of this process, the department collected as many documents, videos, media, and reports that
were available to us through the investigation. With this information, an event summary was created to
outline the protest from when it began at approximately noon to the conclusion at 9:42 pm.
The protest started at Mission Plaza and almost immediately it became a march that occupied the streets
of the City of San Luis Obispo. The protest evolved and protesters entered Highway 101 and blocked
traffic. The Police Department in working with the California Highway Patrol, organized a line of officers
who eventually guided the protesters off the freeway. The protest once again occupied the Downtown area
of the City for several more hours. Information was gathered during this time that the protesters were going
to make another attempt for the freeway. At approximately 6:11 pm a line of officers halted them at Santa
Rosa and Walnut, to deny access to the freeway.
Because of the dangers of entering the freeway again and the protestor's refusal to turn around and not
continue toward the freeway, numerous safety dispersal orders were given which deemed the protest an
illegal assembly. When the protestors would not disperse as directed, a plan was developed to move the
protesters south on Santa Rosa away from the freeway. This was done by instructing the line of officers to
move forward to cause the protesters to disperse south on Santa Rosa. This action was met with
resistance and several of the protesters began throwing water bottles, rocks, and fireworks at the officers.
Several protesters were arrested for failing to disperse and officers used less lethal options in an attempt to
stop the projectiles and to disperse the protesters. When this failed to disperse the crowd, resistance
increased and there was great concern for the safety of the officers; two canisters of teargas were then
deployed in front of the protesters and the line of officers were ordered to move forward. Shortly thereafter,
the line of officers moved to Santa Rosa and Peach at which time the majority of the protesters had
dispersed and left the area.
The final and most important part of this document is the identification of issues where the San Luis Obispo
Police Department could improve. There are ten (10) action items identified in this area. These action items
were developed through this AAR and through public interviews that were conducted independently by
Kari Mansager. These items are listed and outlined as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Since identifying these areas, many of the issues have been addressed and changes implemented.. For
details on the recommendation and implantation of these areas of improvement see pages 23-24.
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The San Luis Obispo Police Department is also intimately aware and has educated itself regarding
Governor Newsom’s advisory board on “Protecting and Facilitating the Right to Engage in Peaceful
Protests and Demonstrations" provided on September 28, 2020 (Attachment 3). SLOPD is actively
monitoring this study and its recommendations. It is worth noting that many of the preliminary
recommendations in this study are already being followed and/or implemented by the San Luis Obispo
Police Department.
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BACKGROUND
Some of the most significant changes to law enforcement and public safety responses to incidents are the
result of thoughtful and post-incident critical reviews. After Action Reviews (AAR) have contributed to
important national-level discussions about law enforcement strategies and tactics during these events.
Nationwide, law enforcement agencies and their public safety partners are increasingly challenged by
complex crisis events. It is incumbent upon first responder agencies to use every available opportunity to
identify best practices and lessons learned to continue to enhance their ability to respond.
AARs do increase the department's transparency and accountability. Developing the habit of conducting
AARs and reviewing incident response as regular practice as part of organizational culture helps us better
prepare for future incidents. This document was written using the methodology recommended by the in
the National Police Foundation "How to Conduct an After Action Review" report (Attachment 2).
The Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in 2020 were an ongoing series of protests and civil unrest that
began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020. The protests began in response to the death of George Floyd, a
46-year-old black man who was killed during an arrest when Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis Police
Department officer, knelt on Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes as other officers looked on. Chauvin and
the other officers involved in the arrest which led to Floyd’s death were later arrested. This killing was a
breaking point for many community members about the injustices perpetuated on people of color by law
enforcement.
The civil unrest began with local protests in the Minneapolis, Saint Paul metropolitan area of Minnesota,
then quickly spread nationwide in over 2,000 cities and towns and over 60 countries internationally in
support of the Black Lives Matter movement. While most of the protests have been peaceful,
demonstrations in some cities escalated into riots, looting, and clashes with law enforcement.
San Luis Obispo is a community that has been and continues to be actively involved in local, state, and
national matters, and the advance information received regarding this protest was not unexpected, nor
alarming. The Police Department has been involved with numerous large events including parades,
peaceful protest, rallies, large marches and other community events. The City and the Police Department
have worked over the past five years to develop and maintain an open and consistent relationship with the
community, special interest groups, and marginalized communities. They also work with various
organizations to ensure their ability to exercise their constitutional rights in the city peacefully and safely.
With these relationships in mind and the information about the local upcoming protest on May 31, San
Luis Obispo Police Chief Deanna Cantrell interviewed with a local news station (KCOY) on May 29. In this
interview, which is referenced in the appendix (Appendix B), Chief Cantrell wanted to reassure the
community that the Police Department was working hard locally to ensure the safety of protesters and all
community members while facilitating the peaceful exercise of free speech rights.
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On May 29, 2020, the Police Department learned there was a protest scheduled for Sunday, May 31
consistent with sentiments being expressed across the country. The group that organized this protest
was RACE Matters SLO, which is a private citizen group that was working together with local
organizations such as Woman’s March SLO to coordinate this event. This was a non-permitted event,
that was scheduled from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm at Mitchell Park. The protest was anticipated as a rally to
be contained in the perimeter of Mitchell Park. The following was the intent of the rally which was posted
on the RACE Matters social media page, “We stand together against anti-Black terror and pledge action
against ongoing violence and injustice against Black and Brown people in America. Rally 1-2 pm, ending
with 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence. Masks and 6 ft distancing requested. Bring masks and signs.
Peaceful Rally."
PRECIPITATING EVENTS
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The San Luis Obispo Police Department’s Command Staff was tasked with developing the Tactical
Deployment schedule for this protest. Planning for this upcoming event was conducted similarly to past
events. The goal of the San Luis Obispo Police Department was to maximize the safety and Constitutional
rights of the citizens, event participants, and employees on duty. The plan consisted of adding additional
officers from Patrol, Motors, Plainclothes, Bikes, and Emergency Response/ Mobile Field Force Teams
dedicated to the event. In anticipation of potentially large crowd size in excess of 500 people, based on
the protest the day before, resources from the Pismo Beach, Morro Bay, Grover Beach, Santa Maria, and
Atascadero Police Departments, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office (SLOSO), and the
Department of Corrections were also utilized.The San Luis Obispo Police Department has used mutual
aid from allied Law Enforcement agencies for prior large-scale events including the SLO Women’s March,
Mardi Gras and Cal Poly Open House.
On May 31, 2020, at approximately 1:00 pm a peaceful rally began in Mitchell Park, with approximately
1,000 in attendance. Over the next hour, there were several guest speakers, and the rally was peaceful
and stayed contained within the park. The rally ended at approximately 2:00 pm and the crowd began to
disperse. As the crowd was dispersing a secondary group began marching through the crowd soliciting
those in attendance of the rally to now march through the city streets of San Luis Obispo. This group
eventually swelled to approximately 500 people and they began marching in the streets throughout
downtown. Even though the protesters marched in the roadway, ignoring traffic laws and impeding
vehicular traffic through much of the downtown, they were mostly peaceful and generally followed the
directional orders of the Officers on-scene. Additionally, Chief Cantrell marched with the protesters for
many blocks and was able to contact and open up communications with individuals who appeared to
have leadership roles in the group. She was able to negotiate with them to stay off Santa Rosa Street due
to the disruption to city services, public safety, and emergency vehicular traffic. The protestors pushed
past officers at Higuera and Nipomo, but through negotiations with Chief Cantrell, did not get on
Highway 101, and turned to Marsh on Carmel Street. This protest concluded without any further issues.
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INTELLIGENCE
On that day, the San Luis Obispo Police Department began receiving information that another protest was
being planned for the following day, June 1, 2020. However, unlike the protest on May 31, 2020, this event
was not organized by RACE Matters SLO and the information being circulated on social media regarding
the event was warning people that this protest was going to potentially lead to criminal activity. This
information came from various sources. SLOPD was urgently trying to identify the organizer of the protest,
however, had difficulty because no one person or group was claiming leadership of the event. Some of the
initial information was received by the SLOPD's School Resource Officer. This officer was contacted by the
San Luis Obispo High School administration who informed SLOPD they had information regarding the
upcoming protest. The information provided related to a concerning Facebook post by a student which
stated that the protest on June 1st had the potential for criminal activity.
The San Luis Obispo Police Department was also gathering intelligence via several social media posts
indicating this protest was not going to be peaceful. Below are some of the examples found on social
media on May 31, 2020. One of the social media posts was promoting looting, while the other warned “real
protesters” to stay home because people are coming to incite a riot.
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Along with the intelligence being gathered by the police department, the San Luis Obispo Dispatch Center
was receiving calls regarding information citizens were reporting about potential civil unrest at the
upcoming protest on June 1, 2020. A summary of calls dispatch received leading up to the June 1, 2020,
protest was prepared for this report (Appendix D).
PRE-EVENT PLANNING AND PREPARATION
On May 31, 2020, recognizing the importance of planning and preparation in advance of a major event,
the San Luis Obispo Police Department transitioned to a tactical deployment schedule, which results in
officers working alternating 12 hour shifts (Appendix E). This decision was made based on credible threats
of violence, looting, and rioting received.
For the protest on June 1, 2020, Police Department Command Staff was tasked with developing the
operations plan. Due to the success of the May 31st event, the planning for this event was similar in
personnel deployment with the same mindset to maximize the safety of the citizens, event participants,
and employees on duty. Given the last-minute nature of this event being created this operation mainly
consisted of personnel from SLOPD and the Department of Corrections.
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There were 46 personnel assigned to the event. Other than the Department of Corrections, there was no
request made for additional resources from any other law enforcement agency. A county-wide advisement
regarding the pending protest set for June 1, 2020, was made so that allied agencies would know that the
event was taking place.The plan was to deploy Patrol Officers, Motor Officers, Plainclothes Officers,
Bicycle officers, and a dedicated Emergency Response/ Mobile Field Force Teams to the event.
Additionally, the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office (SLOSO) and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) advised
SLOPD that they had teams standing by if extra personnel were needed (Appendix E).
On June 1, 2020, an unpermitted protest occurred which quickly became volatile, confrontational, and
unorganized Protestors marched on to Highway 101 and blocked traffic. The protest was halted by a line
of officers at Santa Rosa and Walnut, to deny pedestrian/protest access to Hwy 101 for a second time.
Protesters ignored up to four Safety Dispersal Orders and four Unlawful Assembly Orders, in violation of
PC 409 (Appendix A). Seven suspects were arrested, and several others were removed from the area with
the use of minimal force options.
On June 1, 2020, at approximately noon, the San Luis Obispo Police Department and California Men’s
Colony (CMC) personnel, along with representatives from SLOSO and California Highway Patrol (CHP),
attended a briefing at City Hall for the above described “unpermitted” protest scheduled to begin at 2:00
pm. The Command Post for this event was set up at City Hall. Incident command and decision making
was the responsibility of Chief Cantrell, with tactical advice provided by Captain Amoroso and Captain
Smith. The following personnel were assigned to the Incident Command Post SLOPD Police Chief
Cantrell.
1.Chief Cantrell - Chief of Police
2.Captain Amoroso - Event Incident Commander
3.Captain Smith –Public Information Officer (PIO)/Field Incident Command
4.Lieutenant Mickel - Field Event Commander/Intelligence/ Mobile Field Force
5.Lieutenant Villanti – Undercover Command Mobile Field Force
6.Lieutenant Cudworth – Event Field Supervisor
7.Derek Johnson – City Manager
8.Chief Aggson – SLO City Fire Chief
9.Christine Steeb – Communication Manager
10. Mark Anselmi – Communication Supervisor
11. Christine Dietrick – SLO City Attorney
After the briefing officers were assigned to teams for further instructions from the designated supervisor.
There were extensive discussions before the start of the event to prepare for various contingencies.
Uniformed officers monitored the designated event location on foot. These officers provided scene
security and safety for the citizens. If officers witnessed criminal activity they would evaluate and take
appropriate action, while balancing the severity of the crime with safety concerns as to not provoke an
adverse crowd response.
EVENT SUMMARY
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If the rally turned into a march, Bike and Motor Officers would attempt to assist crowds with safety and
legal paths of travel (staying on the sidewalks and obeying all traffic control devices). However, if larger
groups move into the roadway, at the direction of Command, Field Supervisors would determine the need
to block motorized traffic to provide safe walking access for the demonstrators.
The protest was expected to start at Mission Plaza at approximately 2:00 pm. A large group formed and by
2:07 pm began marching. The protestors immediately began marching in the roadway blocking traffic on
Monterey at Chorro. The number of protesters was larger than expected, around 250, and field units
immediately began asking for assistance to help control traffic.
The protesters marched around the downtown area of the city in the roadway and appeared to have no
real direction. About 20 minutes into the march, an officer who was helping keep traffic away from the
protesters, heard some statements from the protesters that they wanted to go to the police department.
He radioed this information to the command post along with his observations that there was a significant
increase in hostility towards the police in comparison to the march the day prior. With this information,
Sergeant Schafer’s Mobile Field Force Team deployed to the intersection of Walnut/ Santa Rosa and
Walnut/ Osos. The purpose of this deployment was to keep the entry and exit gate of the police
department open so police vehicles could respond to emergencies outside of the protest. Additionally,
there was a concern for the safety of the protesters, if they marched north on Osos to the police
department, they would be in danger from the traffic exiting 101 at Osos and Walnut. Captain Amoroso
notified CHP who subsequently closed the off-ramp.
At approximately 2:31 pm, the protest was marching again on Monterey, but this time they started to
confront and surround Sheriff Deputies who were along the sidewalk. These Deputies were assigned to the
security of the courthouse. A SLOPD officer radioed to the command post stating “you might want to start
a secondary unit’s response team for the Sheriff’s Department, they’re (Deputies) starting to get
surrounded.”
Seeing that this was becoming an unsafe situation (being surrounded by upset protesters) and in an
attempt to de-escalate the situation, the Deputies moved away from the street closer to the front of the
courthouse.However, this did not de-escalate what the protesters were doing, instead, the protesters
became more hostile toward Deputies by yelling and pursuing them to where the Deputies were retreating.
Officers were able to identify one of the primary agitators who was trying to incite people to challenge the
Police to fight. Much of the group splintered off and continued toward Mission Plaza while a group stayed
and continued to confront and yell at the Deputies. This group moved on after a few minutes.
The protest continued to march randomly around downtown and at approximately 2:42 pm a female, from
the previous day's protest, seemed to take control of the demonstration. She had a bullhorn and began
leading the group in a more organized fashion through downtown and toward the police department. While
the group wound through downtown it continued to grow as people joined the march. The march grew to
approximately 350 protesters by the time it left downtown.
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As the protesters left the downtown area, they began traveling northbound on Santa Rosa. The protesters
blocked traffic for the entire north and south lanes of traffic on Santa Rosa as they marched in the
direction of the police department. Command was becoming increasingly concerned about safety due to
the size and behavior of the crowd which was becoming more agitated as they marched. Several of the
people marching were yelling at cars that were attempting to legally drive in the roadway. In addition, they
were yelling "fuck the police" at the officers who were providing traffic safety for the protesters an vehicle
traffic. Due to this increased concern for safety, the Mobile Field Force team, located at the Police
Department, asked for and received permission from the Command post leadership to put on their
helmets and to deploy shields.
At approximately 2:48 pm, the protesters stopped in front of the Police Department, occupying the entire
intersection of Santa Rosa and Walnut. Initially, the crowd focused on the fact that the Officers were
wearing “riot gear” and this seemed to agitate them. Due to the size of the crowd, a second Mobile Field
Force team was deployed to the station. At approximately 3:03 pm the group called for an eight-minute
and 30-second moment of silence. Most of the protesters sat silently in the intersection. During this
period of silence, the protesters began demanding that Officers should kneel to show respect for the
killing of George Floyd.
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Photos of female leading protest sent to Command at 3:19pm and 3:27pm
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This information was relayed to Command by the on scene sergeant and Command left the decision to
kneel or not up to the Officers on the scene. Each Officer was consulted and most of them agreed to take
a knee to show respect for the protestors’ cause and to de-escalate the crowd. Initially, the crowd
applauded this action by the Officers; however, after the moment of silence they stood up and started
marching northbound on Santa Rosa. Many of the protesters began yelling and screaming "fuck you!"
while flipping off the police who just knelt with them. At this time, a large group of peaceful protesters split
off from the more hostile protestors and dispersed. It is unknown why these individuals left at this point.
The on scene Sergeant was contacted by several of these protesters who said they shook his hand and
told him, they appreciated the police department's acknowledgment and support.
12
Photo above: intersection of Walnut and Santa Rosa
Photo left: Mobile Field Force officers kneeling at the
crosswalk Walnut Street
Packet Page 16
While the protesters were at the Police Department our Drone Pilot reported that he saw a protester jump
the fence to the rear secured parking lot of the Police Department. By the time officers responded they
were unable to locate the individual. It is unknown what the intentions of this individual were or where they
went while on the police department property. The entire parking lot and Police Department were searched
but no one was located.
As the protesters continued northbound in the traffic lanes of Santa Rosa, CHP’s Airplane “Air 73” advised
that approximately 60 additional protesters were working their way northbound on Santa Rosa to join the
other larger group. Because of the unpredictable nature of this protest, and where the protest was now
marching, SLOPD resources were being stretched thin. This coupled with our efforts to keep the public,
traffic, and protesters safe, Chief Cantrell began making phone calls to other law enforcement agencies in
our county for assistance. A short time later, officers from other agencies began responding to our city.
At approximately 3:35 pm the main group of protesters reached Santa Rosa and Foothill. As they began to
occupy the intersection, it appeared that many of the protestors who were marching in the street were not
concerned for their safety or the safety of others. This was demonstrated when a SLOPD officer reported a
“near traffic collision” where a vehicle narrowly missed a protester who was walking in the roadway. The
protest then occupied the entire intersection completely shutting down traffic in all directions. The group
sat in the intersection and had another 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence for George Floyd.
While the protesters were still occupying the intersection, one Undercover in the crowd, started hearing the
crowd become focused on the police again starting to chant “fuck the police” seemingly unrelated to any
particular police actions. At approximately 3:41 pm the protesters started to march south on Santa Rosa in
the direction of the 101 freeway. As the crowd was marching, two undercover officers reported they both
heard the crowd start chanting “freeway.”
13
Protesters occupying the intersection of Santa Rosa Street and Foothill Blvd.
Packet Page 17
With the information that the march was potentially headed toward the freeway, Command directed a
Mobile Field Force Team, along with CHP to respond and trail the protesters in case they truly intended to
enter the freeway. As the group was approaching Santa Rosa and Olive, a female’s voice, on a megaphone
was leading the crowd in a chant, “fuck the police.” She then announced on the megaphone she wanted
the protesters to “take the intersection” at Santa Rosa and Olive. At 3:52 pm the march stopped and
occupied the intersection of Santa Rosa and Olive blocking all lanes of traffic in all directions. While
occupying the intersection, a SLOPD Officer advised Command that one of the protesters appeared to
have assaulted a civilian motorcyclist, however, the motorcyclist was able to get away by turning onto
Olive. The officer said that he saw the motorcyclist attempting to navigate his way by the crowd and a
female protester jumped out and grabbed his motorcycle handlebars to make him stop.
Anticipating that the protest was possibly going to try to enter onto the 101 freeway southbound, a large
contingent of SLOPD Officers and CHP officers were staged at the 101 southbound on-ramp on Olive west
of Santa Rosa. At approximately 4:00 pm the protesters began marching again and instead of turning west
on Olive, they turned east on Olive toward 101 southbound onramp at Lemon street. There was only one
CHP officer with his marked black and white police vehicle at this location. He attempted to stop and
redirect the crowd by parking his marked patrol vehicle across the traffic lane and verbally instructed them
not to enter the freeway, but he was overwhelmed by the number of protesters as they ignored these
orders and marched past him onto the freeway. The protesters were now being led in a chant by a female
who was on the megaphone chanting, “we will not be stopped” as they marched by the CHP Officer and
onto the freeway.
14
Screenshot from Officer’s body camera when the protesters first entered the freeway at 4:03 pm.
Packet Page 18
As the protesters continued marching south on the 101 and continued to bypass the off-ramps,
Command along with the CHP began working on a plan on how to move the crowd off the freeway.
During this time, it was related to the Command Post that CHP resources were being stretched thin and
were struggling to stop and divert traffic off the freeway north and south of the protest.
At the request of Chief Cantrell, a large number of assisting Police and Sheriff personnel responded to
our city to assist with the protest. At approximately 4:20 pm, a total of four Mobile Field Force teams
were assembled and being deployed to move the protest off the freeway. These teams, along with CHP,
blocked the protesters on the southbound 101 freeway at Marsh. The plan was to have the protesters
exit the freeway and direct them back towards downtown where it was easier to provide for the safety of
everyone involved. At approximately 4:41 pm, at the direction of a SLOPD Sergeant, the CHP made
dispersal announcements over the public address system from one of their patrol vehicles. Over the next
10 minutes, there were several dispersal orders given. At approximately 4:50 pm the protesters exited
the freeway and headed east on Marsh towards downtown.
Shortly after entering the southbound side of the 101 freeway, protesters began jumping the center rail
onto the northbound side of the freeway. This was taking place on a Monday, at the end of the workday,
and there was a significant amount of vehicle traffic traveling at freeway speeds This was extremely
dangerous for the protesters, those driving on the freeway, and the Officers who were attempting to
protect all parties. Once the protesters occupied both north and southbound lanes of the freeway, they
began marching south.
15
Photo from Drone when the protesters first entered the 101-freeway occupying north and southbound lanes at 4:04 pm.
Packet Page 19
To keep the protesters from re-entering the freeway a Mobile Field Force team was assigned to trail the
protesters. As the protest was heading back toward downtown, it was reported that confrontations
between a frustrated public and the protesters were starting to occur. At approximately 5:41 pm, a
Deputy who was undercover in the crowd, reported to Command that he saw “Tianna the organizer
challenge a female to a fight, but it was broken up.” Ms Arata was challenging a counter protester who
was on the sidewalk as the protest passed them by.
Between 4:50 pm and 5:56 pm, the protesters continued marching in the streets and blocking vehicle
traffic throughout downtown. The Bike, Motor, and Undercover teams continued to monitor the
protesters.At 4:56 pm, Command was notified that the protesters were talking about “taking over the
freeway” again. Additionally, it was reported that the crowd became very confrontational with an Officer
who was undercover in the crowd. They suspected he was a Police Officer and a group started to put
their hands on him like they were “patting him” down. The Officer tried to walk away but the crowd
followed him. Because of being searched and now being followed, he felt this was becoming a dangerous
situation for him and he had to run from the crowd.At approximately 5:09 pm, it was reported to
Command that a team of Deputies was being surrounded by protesters at Marsh and Morro. A Mobile
Field Force team was sent to assist at that location. In addition to the Police, some of the organizers were
“trying to push the hostile group away from the Deputies.” At this point, it looked like the organizers had
lost control of some of the protesters.
16
Mobile Field Force blocking the entrance to Southbound 101 onramp at Marsh Street.
Packet Page 20
It was reported again at approximately 5:55 pm, by Officers trailing the protest, the protesters were
talking about making another attempt to occupy the freeway. With the information that the protesters
were planning on taking the freeway again, Command developed a plan to prevent them from accessing
Highway 101. This decision was based on the fact it is illegal, dangerous for both the protesters and
motorists on the highway, the growing hostility within the crowd, and the fact it would soon be getting
dark, increasing risks of pedestrians on an unregulated freeway.
As the march worked its way north on Santa Rosa toward the freeway, Command moved Officers and the
Mobile Field Force teams to the intersections of Santa Rosa/ Walnut and Osos/ Walnut. The plan was to
place lines of officers on Walnut, at Santa Rosa, to deny the protesters access to northbound Santa Rosa,
eastbound Walnut, and westbound Walnut. This placement prevented the protesters from accessing the
four freeway on-ramps in the immediate area. Additionally, Osos at Walnut was shut down to prevent
westbound traffic on Walnut and northbound traffic on Osos (HWY 101 NB on-ramp and NB off-ramp).
At approximately 6:11 pm, a group of approximately 30 to 40 protesters linked arms and stood mid-block,
with several hundred protesters behind them, on Santa Rosa between Peach and Walnut. They began
marching toward the line of officers that had been formed at Santa Rosa and Walnut. Command was
concerned the protesters were doing this to break through the line of officers to gain access to the
freeway. Command ordered the teams at the intersection to put on their gas masks in the event the
decision was made to deploy tear gas. The plan was to use tear gas if the protesters attempted to break
through the line of officers to get to the freeway again.
17
Screenshot from Drone when the protesters linked arms and marched toward the line of officers at 6:11 pm.
Packet Page 21
When the protesters were face to face with the line of Officers, the on-scene supervisor attempted to
reach out to who he believed were the leaders of the protest. The supervisor told the protesters that they
could continue to exercise their 1st amendment right but had to turn around and head southbound on
Santa Rosa to continue marching. He explained that the police were not going to allow them access to
the 101 freeway. Some of the people the supervisor spoke to attempted to communicate with the
protesters this information, however, this seemed to have little effect on what the protestors did. Many of
the protestors continued their hostilities toward the Officers by challenging the officers who were assigned
to the line to fights and threatening to break through the line of Officers.
At approximately 6:22 pm, one of the protesters experienced a medical emergency. The Officers on the
scene had to clear the area around the person having an emergency to provide help. Many of the
protesters refused to move for the Police to help. The Mobile Field Force team had to form a rescue circle
around the subject to provide medical care. The officers on the scene radioed for an ambulance and the
subject was transported to a local hospital.
18
Officers providing care to a protester having a
medical emergency (indicated by the circle in the
photo) during the time other protesters were refusing
to leave the area.
Packet Page 22
At approximately 6:23 pm, Captain Smith arrived at Santa Rosa and Walnut and assumed command as
the on-scene Incident Commander.He started a dialogue with some of the apparent protest leaders in an
attempt to gain compliance and convey the message that they could not continue northbound Santa
Rosa, eastbound Walnut, or westbound Walnut toward the freeway. They were instructed to turn around
and continue southbound on Santa Rosa, but again they refused. Captain Smith continued to reach out to
those appearing as leaders of the protest to have them disperse. One of the leaders explained to Captain
Smith that he had attempted to get the group of protesters to turn around and continue their march, but
they were not listening to him. The leader asked Captain Smith if all the Officers could remove their
helmets, gas masks, and shield and place all less-lethal weapons on the ground. Once this was done, he
wanted Officers to take a knee to show support for the group and Black Lives Matter. Captain Smith
explained this was not an option based on officer safety concerns and the hostility of some of the
protesters.
At approximately 6:53 pm, a female stood up on a retaining wall located on the southeast corner of Santa
Rosa and Walnut with a megaphone and announced to the crowd that the protest is over and requested
everyone to leave peacefully. She warned the crowd that the police will not allow them to continue north
on Santa Rosa and if they do not disperse, the Police would deploy tear gas. A Sergeant who was on
scene said after her announcement he heard several of the protesters say to her, “we are ready”.
At this point the crowd was not organized and was not following directions of the identified leadership.
This created a difficult and potentially dangerous situation. It is difficult to communicate or provide safety
for a large group that does not have leadership. This along with the above-described behavior and the
growing concern that the crowd wanted to enter the freeway again, confirmed that this crowd needed to
be dispersed. Additionally, it was now after 7:00 pm and there was an additional concern that it was going
to get dark, which greatly increased the dangers of having people in the street without the benefit of pre-
planned traffic controls. A SLOPD Sergeant was instructed to make safety and dispersal announcements
on the loudspeaker of his car.
At approximately 7:17 pm, announcements began for the Formal Safety Dispersal Order for Potential
Safety Issue (Appendix F). The announcement was made three times over the loudspeaker of patrol unit
2002, which took approximately 5 to 10 minutes. It was reported by a SLOPD Sergeant that the crowd
quieted during the second announcement and appeared to be listening to the announcement. He also said
the dispersal order appeared to upset the protesters and they began yelling, “who is the organizer” and
appeared frustrated the protest was concluding.
At about 7:40 pm, several legally required Unlawful Assembly announcements (Appendix G) were made on
the same loudspeaker of marked patrol unit 2002. There were three announcements made over the
loudspeaker (appx 20’ away from frontline protesters) for about 10 minutes. As part of the announcement,
the protesters were told they could continue exercising their 1st amendment right while walking on the
sidewalk. After the first announcement, it was discovered by SLOPD personnel at the front of the line of
officers that the announcements were not loud enough for the entire crowd to properly hear. The vehicle
making the announcements was moved closer (approximately 5-8’) towards the crowd.
Additionally, CHP had their fixed-wing airplane and helicopter leave the area to reduce the ambient noise
and allow protesters to hear the announcements. Following the next announcements, they appeared to
have been heard because many in the crowd responded and left the area or moved to the sidewalk.
19Packet Page 23
However, numerous others stayed in the street and several sat down in defiance of the order.
At approximately 7:50 pm, a SLOPD Sergeant identified two main attendees who were encouraging the
crowd not follow the dispersal order and instructed a SLOSO arrest team to arrest these two protesters
who were now sitting in the street near the southeast corner of Santa Rosa and Walnut. The two protesters
were taken into custody without incident.
After approximately 10 minutes, allowing ample time for the crowd to disperse, many of the protesters
remained. Realizing that this group was not going to leave the area as instructed and were not following
the lawful orders given, Command developed a plan to move the protesters south on Santa Rosa away
from the freeway. A command for the line of Officers to move forward was given which pushed the crowd
south on Santa Rosa. In the event they were met with resistance, officers armed with pepper balls would
disperse pepper balls (Appendix A) at the feet of protesters to further persuade them to leave the area. If
the crowd continued to not heed lawful orders to disperse and become confrontational with Officers, tear
gas would be used to further disperse the crowd without the need for hands on crowd interventions.
Protesters who refused to move were going to be taken into custody by designated arrest teams.
At approximately 8:03 pm, the line of Officers was ordered forward and began pushing the protestors
backward. In the first push by the line of Officers, several protesters who refused to move were taken into
custody for failing to disperse. During one of the arrests, an unknown protester attempted to free an
individual who had just been arrested. Within about 20-30 seconds of the line of officers moving forward, it
was reported that various unidentified protesters began throwing water bottles at Officers.
20
Screen shot from Drone following the Safety Order and Unlawful Assembly announcements
showing the protesters who were refusing to comply with the legal order at 8:02 pm.
Packet Page 24
It was also reported that Officers saw a subject in a black sweatshirt with the number 23 written with green
paint on the back was throwing rocks at Officers. Additionally, the protesters started throwing fireworks at
the Police and into other protesters. The use of fireworks suggests preplanning and premeditation of
several of the protesters in preparing and planning to create chaos and/or incite conflict. This behavior is
also seen in many of the videos from Mustang News, San Luis Obispo Tribune, and Instagram Live videos
that were posted (Appendix H).
With the protesters’ refusal to disperse from the vehicle travel lanes, along with the bottles and rocks being
thrown, pepper balls were deployed at the ground in front of the protesters. The use of the pepper balls
was an effort to use the lowest level of force to disperse the unruly protesters while keeping Officers safe
and avoiding the need to use hands on force. Additionally, deploying pepper balls on the ground reduced
the chance of injury to the protesters while still releasing the irritant contained in the pepper balls making it
uncomfortable to stay in the area. The line of Officers was ordered to stop approximately 20’ south of
Walnut so the situation could be re-assessed, and a further course of action could be determined. The
protesters continued to throw water bottles, fireworks, and other various items towards Officers.
Numerous unruly protesters started to reform in a group and close the distance on Officers. This group
remained standing in the middle of the street and challenged Officers. The protesters were approximately
40’ in front of the line of Officers at this point.
Command reevaluated the situation at this point to see if the hostile protesters were being appropriately
dispersed with the initial push of the line of Officers. It was determined the protestors were still throwing
objects and fireworks thus endangering bystanders and Officers. At approximately 8:14 pm, Command
authorized Chloroachetophenone (CN) gas (tear gas) canisters be deployed in front of the hostile
protesters to encourage them to disperse. Two canisters of CN gas were thrown in front of the protesters.
Once the CN gas was thrown, the line of Officers continued to move southbound on Santa Rosa as several
hostile protesters threw rocks and fireworks at officers. To stop being battered by the projectiles being
thrown at them, officers utilized pepper balls, foam 40mm impact rounds, marking 40mm impact rounds,
bean bag shotgun impact rounds, and Oleoresin capsicum (pepper spray) (Appendix A).
21
CN gas deployment as seen by a
protester looking north on Santa
Rosa toward the line of officers.
Shown are the protesters who are
not willing to disperse from the
street even with the deployment of
teargas at 8:14pm.
Packet Page 25
At approximately 8:36 pm, Mobile Field Force teams took control of Santa Rosa Street, from Walnut to the
intersection of Peach. Most of the crowd had dispersed from the area except for approximately 30-40
protesters who were still challenging officers in the street on Santa Rosa, between Peach and Mill. The line
of Officers continued to move forward which caused many of the unruly protesters to disperse, however,
many continued to stay in the street out of reach of the arrest teams located at the line of officers. An
Arrest Team was formed by SLOPD personnel and approached the remaining protesters from a parking lot
to the west. The protesters were unaware of the approach of the arrest team and one of the was taken
into custody. As this was happening, the line of Officers moved to the intersection of Santa Rosa and Mill.
This action caused most of the remaining protesters to disperse and leave the area.
At approximately 9:00 pm, seeing that the hostile protesters had left the area and there was no more
danger to the public or police, all personnel cleared the streets and returned to the Police Department.
Security of the Police Department was turned over to the SLOPD night watch officers.
At approximately 9:42 pm, the Command Post was shutdown.
Since this event, as of October 27, 2020, we have had 72 demonstrations. Through the lessons learned, by
both demonstrators and law enforcement, the additional protests have largely been peaceful, and we have
not had the same issues as we had on this day.
22Packet Page 26
Issues Recommendations Implemented Identified by
Community
Recommendation
Identified
by Internal
Review
1.The protesters only had one way to
disperse which was to turn around
and go back, this is difficult for
crowds.
Have a route or alternative routes for
protesters to use to leave (left or
right).
Added to
Event Plan
for future
events
X
2.No city personnel had a relationship
with the group protesting and thus no
way to communicate with them.
Build relationship prior to event with
protester leaders and talk face to
face if safe.
On-going
X X
3.Lack of proper equipment to make
a loud enough announcement.
Purchase Long Range Acoustic
Device (LRAD) loudspeaker Make
multiple announcements and make
announcements from different
locations if possible to reach more of
the crowd
LRAD
purchased X X
4.Received feedback during
independent interviews about early
appearance of officers in riot gear
during a peaceful protest.
Evaluate safety equipment donned
based on assessed safety risk. Limit
the number of officers in the nearby
area of a peaceful protest to lessen
the appearance of a police stance.
Added to
Event Plan
for future
events
X
5.Lieutenants needed in the field
overseeing the tactical operation.
Deploy lieutenants to the field during
tactical operations.
Added to
Event Plan
for future
events
X
23
Issues and Recommendations
Packet Page 27
Issues Recommendations Implemented Identified by
Community
Recommendation
Identified
by Internal
Review
6.There was insufficient sworn
staffing to prevent protesters from
entering the freeway.
Work with allied agencies but staffing
has to be balanced with fiscal
sustainability.
Mutual Aid
implement X
7.There was insufficient civilian
support staff to assist with traffic
control during events.
Use City Street personnel to deploy
barricades and support.
Now using
City Street
personnel to
deploy
barricades
X
8. Mutual Aid agencies assisting self-
deployed and lacked sufficient
direction from Command Post.
When allied agencies arrive to assist,
ensure they check in with the
Command Post and the team
sergeant they are assigned to is
aware. Assign Dispatch to make a
spreadsheet to track where Mutual
Aid agencies are assigned.
Now having
mutual aid
check in with
the CP and
Dispatch is
completing
the
spreadsheet
X
9. Lacked drone pilots and batteries
for equipment to staff lengthy event.
Purchase additional batteries and
train additional pilots.
Batteries
purchased,
pilots in
training
X
10. Body worn camera batteries have
a 7-8 hour run capacity on internment
use, constant use 3 hours max.
Cameras must be docked to recharge.
Purchase body worn cameras that
have replaceable batteries.
Currently
testing
cameras with
replaceable
batteries
X
24Packet Page 28
APPENDIX
25Packet Page 29
Pepper ball - A pepper-spray projectile, also called a pepper-spray ball, pepper-ball, pepper bomb, or
pepper-spray pellet is a frangible projectile containing a powdered chemical that irritates the eyes and
nose in a manner similar to pepper spray. These projectiles are fired from specially designed forced
compliance weapons or modified paintball guns.
Pepper spray – A temporarily disabling aerosol that is composed partly of capsicum oleoresin and causes
irritation and blinding of he eyes and inflammation of the nose, throat, and skin.
CN Gas – A gas that makes the eyes fill with tears but does not damage them, commonly referred to as
“tear gas;” used in dispersing crowds. As a result of the UN’s Chemical Weapons Convention, riot control
agents were banned in war and took effect in 1997. The overall ban was put into place because of the
inability to differentiate lethal gas from non-lethal gas such as CS or CN. However, there is an exception
to the convention that CS or CN gas can continue to be used to prevent rioting of prisoners of war or
situations where civilian casualties can be avoided.
40mm Impact round – Lightweight, high-speed projectile consisting of a plastic body and sponge nose
as a less-lethal alternative, that is shot from a 40mm launcher.
Mobile Field Force – A Mobile Field Force Team is comprised of officers who are trained in crowd control
tactics. A Mobile Field Force Team is capable of responding to a variety of behaviors and have the ability
to provide rapid, organized and disciplined response to civil disorder, and control or disburse
unruly crowds.
Penal Cod 406. Whenever two or more person, assembled and acting together, make any attempt or
advance toward the commission of an act which would be a riot if acutally committed, such assembly is a
rout.
APPENDIX A - DEFINITIONS
APPENDIX B - KCOY INTERVIEW WITH CHIEF CANTRELL
26Packet Page 30
APPENDIX C - SUMMARY OF CALLS RECEIVED BY DISPATCH
SAW SOCIAL MEDIA POST - LOOTING WILL START IN SLO AT 2000HRS
2ND Reporting Party (RP) SAYS DAUGHTER SAW A SECONDHAND SNAP CHAT THAT THERE WAS
GOING TO BE LOOTING IN SLO TONIGHT. No Further Detail
ADDITIONAL Reporting Party (RP) HEARD SECOND HAND ON SOCIAL MEDIA THAT THERE WILL
BE DESTRUCTION Downtown SLO AT 2000HRS
REPORTING PARTY DAUGHTER SHOWED HER A SOCIAL MEDIA POST REGARDING SUBJS
COMING INTO TOWN TO LOOT/ RIOT.
2ND REPORTING PARTY ADVISED HER DAUGHTER SHOWED HER SNAP CHAT POSTS OF SUBJS
SAYING THEY WERE COMING TO SLO AND THAT PEOPLE SHOULD LOCK THEIR DOORS AND
GET READY FOR THE VIOLENCE/LOOTING/ RIOTING
ONLINE POST CIRCULATING ABOUT GROUPS ENRT TO SLO FROM VALLEY TO 211 (rob)
STUDENT HOUSING AND BUSINESSES IN SLO. REPORTING PARTY HAS SCREENSHOTS TO
PROVIDE TO OFFICERS
INFO FROM REPORTING PARTY COWORKERS FRIEND TO COWORKER - SUBJ IN PROTEST ARE
STASHING BRICKS IN DT AREA TO THROW THROUGH WINDOWS
ADDTL REPORT OF POSS LOOTING OVERHEARD WHILE AT LAGUNA LAKE FOR BEST BUY - NO
DESCR OF SUBJ AND WAS 40 AGO
FACEBOOK POSTS PLANNED LOOTING AT TARGET TONIGHT, NO SPECIFIC TIME LISTED POST
FROM FRIEND OF EMP
May 31, 2020
SLOPD Case # 200531047
The below narrative are the notes from the Officer Actions who handled the call regarding the social
media post.
The mother of a Social Media poster was contacted, and she was appropriately notified of SLOPD's
response if any looting occurred in SLO tonight. She said she understood the gravity of the social
media post and she would have her son take down the post and would speak to him about the
seriousness.
June 01, 2020
SLOPD Case # 200601117
SLOPD Case # 200601116
SLOPD Case # 200601102
SLOPD Case # 200601089
SLOPD Case # 200601084
27Packet Page 31
REPORTING PARTY SEEING SNAPCHAT POSTS ABOUT LOOTING AT 2000 HOURS "START
LOOKING AT DOWNTOWN SLO, GO GET YOUR MOB READY"
REPORTING PARTY WAS ACCIDENTALLY INCLUDED IN GROUP TEXT THAT TALKED ABOUT
LOOTING THE APPLE STORE TODAY.
June 1, 2020 continued
SLOPD Case # 200601062
SLOPD Case # 200601007
The group text appears to reference a conversation between Apple store managers and
Administration regarding 3rd hand info obtained online. The information references a looting spree at
Apple stores starting in SLO. There are no dates, details, or other detailed info in the texts. RP has no
association with Apple, or the numbers listed in the text. I was unable to determine the validity of the
information. No other reports of suggested or confirmed looting at the store have been reported to
SLOPD. The sergeant informed of the information.
28Packet Page 32
29
APPENDIX D - TACTICAL DEPLOYMENT
PATROL
In response to national protests and increased frequency of local short notice protests, the Department will
be transitioning to a Tactical Deployment status for all sworn officers. The below schedule will be
implemented effective Monday morning 6/1/2020 at 0700 hours. We will be placing all personnel in two
squads, working 12-hour shifts, seven days a week until the deployment ends. All officers currently
assigned to Team 1, 2, Motors, and Day Metro will work 0700-1900 hours. Team 3, 4, 5, and Night Metro
will work 1900-0700 hours.
INVESTIGATIONS
Detectives will be working 0700-1900 seven days a week. You will remain working in your current
assignment, but you will need to have all your tactical gear ready to deploy if called upon.
Daywatch 0700-1900
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Nightwatch 1900-0700
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Officer
Investigations
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Sergeant
Detective
Detective
Detective
Detective
Detective
Detective
Detective
Detective
Detective
Detective
Packet Page 33
APPENDIX E - EVENT INFORMATION
30
Event Name: Black Lives Matter Protest
Case #:
Event Start Date: June 1, 2020
Event End Date: June 1, 2020
Event Briefing Time: 12:00 pm
Event Start Time: 2:00 pm
Event End Time: 9:06 pm
Demobilization Time: 9:42 pm
Staffing Details
# of officers
Chief 1
Captains 2
Lieutenants 3
Sergeants 4
Officers 34
Field Service Tech. 2
Dispatchers 3
Other 1
Total 50
Agency # of officers
California Men's Colony 10
San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office 60
Paso Robles Police Department 7
Grover Beach Police Department 5
Pismo Beach Police Department 5
Arroyo Grande Police Department 4
Morro Bay Police Department 5
Cal Poly Police Department 2
California Highway Patrol 30
Total 128
Packet Page 34
APPENDIX F - SAFETY ORDER ADVISEMENT BY SGT. SHALHOOB
31
"Attention, this is Sgt. Shalhoob of the San Luis Obispo Police Department. We have received information
that there is a potential safety threat to this event. We have spoken to the event organizers and they have
asked us to help disperse this assembly immediately until the validity of this threat can be determined. We
are asking all of you to disperse immediately in an orderly fashion to avoid any possible threats to your
safety."
APPENDIX G - UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY ADVISEMENT BY SGT. SHALHOOB
"I am Sgt. Shalhoob with the San Luis Obispo Police Department. I hereby declare this to be an unlawful
assembly, and in the name of the People of the State of California command all those assembled at the
intersection of Santa Rosa and Walnut St.'s in the City of San Luis Obispo to immediately disperse, which
means to break up this assembly. If you do not do so, you will be subject to police action, including
arrest. Police action could include the use of necessary and reasonable force which could result in injury.
Section 409 of the California Penal Code prohibits remaining in the area just described, regardless of your
purpose, you will be in violation of section 409. The following routes of dispersal are available.
Southbound Santa Rosa from Walnut St. You have 5 minutes to disperse."
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APPENDIX H - VIDEOS OF PROTEST FROM MEDIA SOURCES
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Video from San Luis Obispo Tribune
Video from Cal Poly Mustang News
Video from Tianna Arata's Instagram account
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APPENDIX I - VIDEO REVIEW
The following is a copy of Lieutenant Cudworth's report on the body camera and in-car videos he
reviewed of the event.
There were over 80 videos captured by officers during the protest. Lieutenant Cudworth reviewed all the
body-worn camera (BWC) footage between the hours of 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm.
Several of the videos are similar as many of the officer’s views overlapped each other. There are some
subtle differences in what angle was captured but they provide an accurate representation of what the
officers faced once the dispersal order was given and the protesters failed to leave the area as directed.
The following BWC videos were reviewed:
Officer Etherton: 3 videos
1 – (202006011811) 22m:13s
Santa Rosa and Walnut at Skirmish line as the crowd formed. Officer Etherton[ contacts leaders of the
group asking for assistance with a medical emergency. He directs them to march back downtown. He
gives directions away from the freeway. He gives group options but emphasizes the PD wants them to
be safe. He is asked, “Why are you geared up?” and he replies that “You ran at us.” Captain Smith
confirms the intersection of Santa Rosa and Walnut is a firm line in the sand.
2- (202006011917) 10m:04s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Protestor yelling “You don’t give a fuck about us.” The tone of the protestor’s
yelling is becoming angry. Instructions are given on how and what will be deployed to move protestors
back. Smoke, pepper balls, and then CN gas. Give instructions to the protestors. At 9m:29s a linebacker
approaches Etherton and states something to the effect that people are starting to fade out and that the
officers on the line should be rotated.
3- (202006011943) 46m:26s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. The dispersal order is given along with the route for dispersal. Sgt. Shalhoob
reminds protestors they have a 1st amendment right to walk on the sidewalk and continue their protest.
Captain Smith gives clear instructions first smoke, then pepper ball, and finally CN gas. The line of officer
scan be seen moving up. Deployment of crowd control measures begins. 29m:00s CN gas is deployed.
The crowd is in the street. CN gas canisters being kicked back at officers.
Officer Bravo: 2 videos
1-(20200611808) 1h:00m:12s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Protestors can be seen at the top of the hill. He moves up to support the line of
officers. Protestors state this is a peaceful protest, and they will not be stopped. Protestor states “You
want to hurt us.” Protestor “We want to go that way” pointing towards Walnut in front of he PD and “We
do not want to fight.” Unknown protestor “Big pigs in the back, small pigs in the front.” An unknown
female asks for “white people in the front.” Protestor “You are escalating this, then when shit starts you
blame it on us.” Etherton steps in and asks for help getting to a female experiencing a medical
emergency. 45m:00s unknown female on megaphone announcing people can leave or stay and if they
stay, they may be arrested.
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2-(202006011944) 59m:34s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Can hear dispersal order. Go to the sidewalk and you can legally protest.
Protestors begin to move. Can hear the 2nd order. Can see protestors disperse, then others beginning to
move back into the street. Line of officers moves, smoke, and pepper balls are used. Protestors do not
leave and form a line at Santa Rosa and Peach. Officer Perlette’s gas mask fails, and he is exposed to the
CN gas and had to leave the line. 30m:00s unknown object thrown at officers.
Officer Jeff Koznek: 4 videos
1- (2006011942) 4m:19s Santa Rosa and Walnut. Can hear dispersal order and five-minute warning to
disperse. Can hear Sgt Shalhoob provide a direction of travel. He also tells them per the 1st Amendment
they can continue to protest while on the sidewalk. A second and third dispersal order can be heard.
2- (202006011949) 49m:01s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Begins with the arrest of protestors in the intersection. Captain Smith gives
instructions regarding the deployment of crowd control measures. Can see the initial push of officers and
deployment of crowd control measures. Follows officers up Santa Rosa to Mill like other videos.
3- (202006012039) 1m:25s
Nothing significant noted in the video.
4- (202006012041) 8m:48s
Nothing significant noted in the video.
Officer Parsons: 1 video
1- (202006012000) 22m:18s Line
of officers on the east side of Santa Rosa at Walnut. Video is after the dispersal order. 8m:45s objects are
throng at officers. 8m:55s fireworks are seen going off. Officers are deploying pepper balls. A protestor
shouts, “What the fuck is wrong you, you work for us.”
Officer Benson: 3 videos
1- (202006011830) 29m:25s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Shows a similar video as captured by several other
officers. No new info was obtained; nothing significant was noted in the video.
2- (202006011948) 15m:08s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Behind line of officers. Shows a similar video as captured by several other
officers. No new info was obtained; nothing significant was noted in the video.
3- (202006012012) 28m:07s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Behind the line of officers after the initial push. Protestor using a leaf blower to
push gas back at officers. Flashbangs, fireworks, can be seen along with CN gas deployment. Water
bottles being thrown by protestors. Finishes up with officers moving up Santa Rosa to Mill.
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Officer Villanueva: 2 videos
1- (202006011807) 1h:00m:18s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Protestor “We are just a bunch of kids.” Officers respond to a medical
emergency of an unknown female. Can see organizers interact with each other. The protestor seen in
Detective Stradley’s video is yelling the same insults as seen in Villanueva’s video. Officer Etherton
interacts with organizers. Can hear an unknown female telling protestors that the officers will not let them
through.
2- (202006011946) 57m:35s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Can hear 1st and 2nd dispersal order. Can see first push of line of officers
southbound on Santa Rosa. Officer “bottles incoming.” Can see fireworks as the group backs up. Bottles
being thrown at officers as gas is deployed. The remaining video shows officers’ movements southbound
from Santa Rosa to Mill like other videos.
Officer Magana: 3 videos
1- (202006011814) 44m:52s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. He is behind the line of officers and the view is like other officer’s videos. Can
see the group begin to disperse and move southbound on Santa Rosa towards Peach. Can see
protestors regroup on Santa Rosa near Peach.
2- (202006011914) 7m:31s Santa
Rosa and Walnut. Can hear dispersal order. Can hear female on megaphone stating event organizers are
asking for help from officers to disperse the crowd. Officers have deemed the event to be a safety risk.
3- (202006012009) 39m:05s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. It begins to push protestors southbound on Santa Rosa. Can see pepper ball
deployment. Protestors reorganize and CN gas is deployed. CN gas canisters kicked back at officers.
Officers move southbound on Santa Rosa through to Mill. Protestors still yelling at officers.
Officer Hurni: 2 videos
1- (202006011957) 6m:28s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Begins with the arrest of protestors in the intersection. Dispersal order can be
heard. Nothing significant was noted in the video.
2- (202006012042) 1m:36s
Nothing significant noted in the video.
Officer Cox: 2 videos
1-(202006011957) 5m:10s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Begins with moving in to arrest protestors. Takes possession of the arrestee
then returns to the line. Nothing significant was noted in the video.
2-(20200612031) 11m:53s
Santa Rosa and Mill. Arrest near the intersection for failing to disperse. Nothing significant was noted in
the video.
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Officer Bracy: 2 videos
1- (202006011946) 53m:36s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. A dispersal order is given. Video same vantage point as Officer Pelletier. Shows
the arrest of Michael Gates. You can see protestors moving to the northeast corner of the intersection
beginning to flank officers. After arrest, he gets back into the line of officers.
2-(202006012042) 1m:40s
Nothing significant noted in the video.
Officer Peck: 1 video
1- (202006011958) 10m:47s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Begins with the arrest of two females. The crowd is chanting and yelling during
arrests. Nothing significant seen on video.
Officer Stradley: 2 videos
1- (202006011811) 1h:00m:18s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Protestor “Big pigs in the back, small pigs in the front.” Can see officers helping
female who suffered a medical emergency. 15m:45s male protestor approaches the line of officers, “you
guys are all fucking bitches, scared aren’t you” “Fuck all of you guys” “Scared as Fuck” “You are a fucking
punk.” Protestor “You gonna stop me? I wanna go that way.” 25m:00s “Let us walk.” 47m:14s lady in pink
trying to debate how many the officers can take.” 51m:21s protestor asking, “Where is the Chief who lost
her gun?” Protestor “They cannot legally stop us.” Protestor debating with Captain Smith.
2- (202006012050) 1m:45s
Nothing significant noted in the video.
Officer Pelletier: 2 videos
1-(202006011946) 43m:37s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Starts with the dispersal order. While standing on the northeast corner of the
intersection he is part of the line of officers. This is when the group began to flank our officers. He is
directed to pull out his baton and bring it to “port-arms.” Jalen laughs and replies “I got yours.” A
protestor, “I’m sensing some shit” and “I am not scared.” Protestor replies to dispersal order, “Stand on
your words, just don’t talk about it.” Implying he heard the order and was refusing to disperse. A protestor,
“You guys are causing the problem.”
2-(20206012033) 10m:36s
Mill and Santa Rosa. Cover an arrest of a protestor failing to disperse. Nothing significant was noted on
video.
Officer Amaya: 1 video
1- (202006012032) 18m:29s
Mill and Santa Rosa. An unknown protestor is yelling at officers as they are making an arrest. Protestors
still yelling at offices even after the deployment of gas and PD efforts to move the crowd out of the area.
Nothing significant seen on video.
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Officer Benedetti: 1 video
1- (202006011944) 55m:49s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Captures dispersal order and the initial arrests at Santa Rosa and Walnut. The
crowd yells at officers to “Let her go” and “Fucking pigs.” Captain Smith gives clear instructions on the
use of smoke, pepper balls, and CN gas. Items are thrown at officers. 32m:00s fireworks thrown at
officers. Captures deployment of crowd control measures.
Officer Jessen: 2 videos
1-(202006011919) 10m:19s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Stationed behind line of officers. Nothing significant was noted in the video.
2-(202006011955) 57m:42s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Unknown female announcing to the crowd. Protestor replies, “Fuck you.”
Protestors begin to leave and get onto the sidewalk then return to the street as the line of officers moves
forward. 13m:45s Fireworks thrown at officers. The crowd does not disperse and gathers in the street
Santa Rosa and Peach. A protestor is standing in the street with a bicycle raised overhead. As the crowd
grows, CN gas is deployed. Protestors kick CN gas canister back at officers. Fireworks continue to be
thrown at officers. 21m:50s unknown officer advises, “rocks coming in.” Protestors still yelling at officers
and not dispersing.
Officer Orozco: 2 videos
1-(202006011828) 56m:37s
Santa Rosa and Walnut. Shows protestors yelling at officers. “Let us walk.” 26m:45s an unknown female
can be heard on a megaphone, “They will not let us pass” and “you could be arrested.” A protestor,
“Fucking white cops.” This is when the group began to flank the officers. The group’s chanting begins to
get louder. Captain Smith can be seen speaking with organizers. Captures deployment of crowd control
measures.
2-(202006012025) 10m:49s
Santa Rosa and Peach. Group of protestors continuing to yell at protestors. The
squad moves up the street to Santa Rosa and Mill. Nothing significant was noted
in the video.
Additionally, there were 20 video segments filmed by our drone. The drone flew over the protestors as
they moved throughout the city, onto the freeway, and failed to disperse. The videos which best captures
the behavior of the crowd were:
DJI_0178: Shows protestors on the Freeway
DJI_0226: Shows arrests at line of officers
DJI_0228: Show the deployment of crowd control measures
DJI_0230: Shows protestor throwing rocks at officers
There are an additional seven YouTube videos of the protestors' behavior which was documented by
Mustang News. All these videos are digitally preserved at our Police department and are available for
review.
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APPENDIX J - PROTEST ROUTE & TIMELINE
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MEMORANDUM
TO: CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, SAN LUIS OBISPO POLICE DEPARTMENT
FROM: KARI MANSAGER, INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT
SUBJECT: COMMUNITY PORTION OF 6/1/20 PROTEST AFTER ACTION REPORT
DATE: 11/5/20
In mid-August 2020, I was asked and agreed to conduct the community portion of the June 1st,
2020 protest “After Action Report.” The San Luis Obispo Police Department had started an
internal review and this portion serves as a stand-alone addition to the After Action Report
appendix.
The narratives are based on interviews with 11 community members who have been given alias
names and for some, no identifiable demographic information, to protect their privacy and
safety. I initially identified folks to interview based on print and social media accounts of the
protest and then asked each person I interviewed for names of people they recommend I
include. About a dozen people did not respond to my request for an interview.
I asked a standard set of questions and have weaved their narratives together and pulled out
common themes from what was shared. My role in this report was to share their experiences.
My role was not to fact-check or provide recommendations.
I’m honored that those I interviewed trust me with their narratives. They have my deepest
thanks.
Alias names and demographic information interviewees chose to share:
Alberto is a Hispanic male in his 20’s.
Anne is a white woman in her 40’s.
Anthony is a “white guy” in his 20’s and is Jewish.
Christopher is a Caucasian male in his 20’s.
Jackie is an African American woman in her 40’s.
Jo is a Mexicano man in his 20’s.
Justice will be referred to using “they” gender pronouns to best protect their identity.
Nora is a Mexican American woman in her 20’s.
Penny is a Caucasian female in her 30’s.
Rosie is a Latina female in her 20’s. Rosie was an arrestee.
Sam will be referred to using “they” gender pronouns to best protect their identity. Sam was an
arrestee.
All interviewees were SLO county residents at the time of the protest. Interviewees were a mix
of active participants who came to the event to protest and participants who served as
observers/helpers who came to document the event or to support protesters.
Motivation to Join the June 1st Protest:
Concern and Care
Anthony: The protest on Sunday [the day before June 1st] was great. We marched and it was
overall a really positive experience but the presence of the cops at that protest was very
Attachment 1
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threatening. I could feel tensions were high which is what motivated me to come out on June
1st and serve as a peacekeeper again.
Jackie: I honestly joined on June 1st because I was a little concerned and wanted to bear witness
and be there and see what was happening. I had concern that there were kids there.
Nora: One of the reasons I was motivated to go to the June 1st protest was because I attended
the May 31st Black Lives Matter rally the day prior. From the beginning of [the May 31st] march
there was a large police presence. I was there as an observer. I wanted to be between the
youth and the police officers. [On May 31st] I saw a SLO police officer on a bike hit a student
with their bike. Later on, the police officers were at corners in their SWAT gear. It was very
intimidating, and I had never seen something like that in SLO. One of my motivators to show up
to the June 1st march was because of the police aggression I witnessed the day before. I was
concerned about what could happen based on what I had seen on May 31st.
Experiences at the June 1st Protest
A Sense of Community
Anthony: I wasn’t there to protest. Instead, I saw my community waking up in a way I hadn’t
seen before. I just wanted to support people, which is why I served as a peacekeeper with
water and snacks. I felt I was there to protect my community, or to witness my community, or
support it. I walked alongside the protesters. I was on the edges of the crowd. For most of the
protest it felt fine. It felt good. It felt like we were doing what we were supposed to do –
express our anger. Express our sadness. And it didn’t feel unsafe for a while.
Nora: The police don’t talk to protesters. They don’t talk to the community. I felt safe with
protesters. There were medics. At the very beginning, I helped someone who twisted their
ankle and waited with her for her friend to pick her up. That was the kind of atmosphere it was-
people helping each other out.
Sam: One of the big things that these protests have sparked within me is a connection to the
SLO community that I didn’t have before that. During these protests I really felt like I was
marching with a group of people who were of the same mindset and wanted change in the
community. This movement was really eye opening for me and just really powerful to hear
people’s voices echoing downtown. That one solid voice- it really made me sad that
I hadn’t been connected earlier. For the next 6 hours- before we got on the freeway, before we
hit the police blockade- it was 6-hours of our voices, marching, moments where we took breaks
and talked. To hear these voices that I hadn’t heard before... I didn’t know that many Black
community members... I heard them that day and to hear their voices and to hear that they
face an incredible amount of prejudice just because of the demographics of SLO- to hear them
was really eye opening and makes you want to change.
Undercover Officers and Unease about Rumors of Antifa and Looting
Alberto: As we marched, I saw some businesses with boarded up windows. My first
thought was, “who the fuck in SLO is going to riot and loot these stores downtown?” It seemed
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very racist. They associate this movement that is trying to get Black people not to get killed with
violence. I don’t know why people thought riots would take place in SLO.
Anthony: They won. May 31st, the police showed up with shields and armor and big assault
rifles. Why? Why? Why? I don’t understand. Why they called in every cop from the county in
full gear and menacing people with weapons, assault rifles. They said later that they were
scared seeing what was going on around the country. This tells me that our law enforcement
doesn’t know what community they live in. They acted like occupiers of the town just because
kids were mad. Anyone who’s from here knows that we don’t have Antifa or any organized far
left movement that’s going to burn down the courthouse. I don’t see what they were worried
about.
Penny: I remember an instance when there were people who seemed they didn’t belong. There
had been rumors of Antifa and people being bussed into the protest from Santa Maria and Los
Angeles. There were businesses boarded up. Nobody knew if it was real. There was
no indication of people being bussed in, but there were some people looking out of place. They
may have been undercover, and people started calling them out. There were random
men alone in the crowd and I did see people start saying “does anyone know this guy?” and
someone would ask “why did you join today?” - friendly, but inquiring.
There was a lot of misinformation and rumor. City officials had shared some of these
rumors and people in the protest were concerned about this. Rumors were shared on “Take
back SLO” and other social media, which likely fueled businesses boarding up. Some of the
businesses boarded up, others didn’t, and it made for a unique landscape of every other
business boarded up and the others with employees outside supporting us. The discrepancy felt
odd and sad.
Adding undercover police did not help. Police never felt like a security at the protest. They felt
like a threat. They could have made sure cars didn’t blast through. Instead, this felt like we
were under threat rather than protection. Feeling under threat from police and knowing
there were undercover people in the crowd listening to us didn't feel supportive.
Entering the Highway
Alberto: I got on the freeway for like 2 minutes, but it was in between my classes. I heard the
protest from my apartment and ran out there to see what was going on. There was one police
officer with one car. They got around it really easily. Everyone looked carefully to the left to be
safe from oncoming traffic. When they had a clear amount of time they spread out and made
themselves big with signs and made sure they stopped traffic. They knew what was going to
happen if they didn’t. They started marching southbound then I got off on the other side.
The whole idea of stopping traffic is to disrupt people and basically the whole idea is to make
people aware that Black people are being brutalized and murdered. That’s a regular thing and
having your Thursday afternoon drive disrupted is like the only way to get people to relate who
don’t understand being killed, beaten, choked, and shot. I like doing breaking news stuff.
It was an adrenaline rush. I was glad to be a part of it and attempt to document it.
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Jackie: I felt safe entering the freeway because there were so many of us. It’s a weird thing.
When we got on, there were no cars. It’s not like you get on and cars are going 80. It is
dangerous, but we walked on from the sides and there were just no cars on our side. The other
cars were already stopped in traffic. We walked through those cars. It felt invigorating and at
that time it had never been done in SLO before. It felt like “wow this is a new day here”. It felt
empowering that we had the strength in numbers. Obviously, you can’t do that with a small
crowd. You have to be bold; you can’t be wishy washy. It gets more attention -more media
attention. It makes more of a statement that you’re stopping business as usual to address this
issue. Because it’s dangerous you’re taking more of a risk, including legal repercussions. It’s a
level up. A freeway takeover signifies that “we’re going big”.
Sam: That whole day was powerful. The freeway moment was the force of the community- the
young, angry, fed up students and youth of SLO coming together to show that we are here, and
we can stop traffic. We can make a difference. Making a literal physical impact. Its’ something
that draws a lot of news.
That moment was really powerful for us in terms of getting our voices heard.
Getting on the freeway was a little unplanned and scary at first, but we had the right amount of
people, no one got hurt and it was ok.
The drivers who get stuck on the freeway because of protesting- they experience this moment
of discomfort and feel stuck. That’s kind of the feeling that BIPOC people in America face every
day- that they’re trapped, unsafe, and have nowhere to go. Most white Americans will never
feel that or don’t understand that.
Getting on the freeway also shuts down commerce a little. As soon as you affect the economy,
people start to listen. These kinds of protest work. They get the message out and people
listen. It’s not violent.
A Leaderless March
Anne: When you’re looking at a collective movement, how can you identify who the leader is?
Some people had megaphones, but even that phrase “leaders” is not how it works.
Jo: I like to think of these things as community organized. I know when we were on the corner
of Marsh and Santa Rosa there were a lot of high school students that spoke. I didn't think
there was one person leading this. I felt it was a community engagement effort. Just because
you have a megaphone doesn't mean you’re leading because the people who have
the megaphones pass it around freely.
Justice: There was no one leading the march, really. It was a bunch of high school students in
solidarity with Black lives. There were different speakers at different moments, but it was a
bunch of students marching in solidarity. It was leaderless. It was a movement of youth.
Sam: The police kneeled with the crowd the first time we passed the police station. I remember
it was weird because we didn’t have one unified voice. We didn’t have people leading; we were
just listening to anyone who had the loudest voice or with a megaphone. Some people yelled
for police to kneel and after a while they did. It didn’t really mean much- four hours later they
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were spraying at us, shooting at us, and arresting us. Their kneeling showed its hypocrisy in
four hours' time.
The Police Line at Santa Rosa and Walnut
Shock
Anne: Making space for BIPOC people to share their stories and just listening to them
throughout the protest as a white person was profound and frankly not something I get to do
often in this community. To have the police act as if this was going to be a totally destructive
event was just shocking. The character of the response did not match the character of the
protest.
Christopher: When we got to the top of the hill at Santa Rosa, we saw all these armored
officers. I was shocked when I came over the hill- I didn’t expect to see these guys fully
equipped with all the riot helmets. Police said later that people came running at them, but the
protesters had held arms together and skipped down the hill. Nobody was running at them.
Once we got there the crowd started chanting “why are you in riot gear we don’t see a riot
here”. The police didn’t allow them to walk through Santa Rosa at all. They skipped down
holding hands to meet the police line. Police responded with batons and tear gas.
Justice: Our breath was taken away when we saw this line up of police in riot gear. We saw a
paddy wagon, large bundles of zip ties, and large staging areas, like the Sheriff setting up at
Santa Rosa and Palm. We didn’t see any ambulances or medics there.
Fatigue
Jackie: There was no directive from within our group to advance. That wasn’t a goal. It was
getting dark. I heard another reason given for the police stopping us when they did and how
they did was that the officers themselves were tired. I don’t think it was necessary. They could
have not stopped us there and let us disperse. We were getting tired and it was going to end
soon.
Penny: I remember as soon as I joined the protest, those who had been speakers on the
megaphones were tired. They had been out there marching for hours already and there was
not a plan. There was still joy and energy in the crowd but the people who had been out
there speaking were tired. I thought we were going to the police station to protest out front
and end there. It was not announced that way from a megaphone, but I remember thinking we
were about to wrap up. And then we were met with the riot gear line.
Rosie: While we were in the van on the way to county jail, I heard some officers saying, “Oh
yeah, we only did this because we want to get home and we’re tired. We escalated this because
everyone’s tired and want to get home.”
Following Black Leadership, and Protecting Bodies of Color
Anthony: People were respecting the young Black participants in the protest- they weren’t the
organizers or directors of movement. They weren’t in control of the situation. But they were
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the march leaders in the moment by way of having the mic and having the courage in that
moment.
Penny: I remember the crowd was calling white people to the front. A lot of white people were
at the front then yelling at the police. Agitation was happening from some of the young white
“allies” who were instigating. This made me more nervous because agitation could put people
of color at risk. Nobody in the protest had threatened violence.
We know that people of color are targeted in any setting more that white people so, especially
in a protest or in a time of heightened situation, a strategy or a way of protecting the people
you’re there to support is to surround black and brown bodies with white bodies. Often in
protest folks of color will ask for that. White allies, after attending these kinds of events, have
learned that this is something they should be doing, expected to do. The hope is putting white
people between officers and brown people helps protect people of color.
Not Wanting to Turn Around, Feeling Trapped
Anthony: You could feel the battle happening between what the protest was going to become-
call it quits and go back to Mitchell park and relax or keep pushing because we were so angry.
Jackie: Turning around felt like a defeat. Unless it’s planned, turning around feels like a defeat.
Having no option but to turn around was a hard one without any leadership. People didn’t want
to have a protest for hours and then just turn around when meeting a police line.
Justice: There was no clear intention or directive to get on the freeway again. There was no
intention to do anything, but we were just stuck there and turning around felt like defeat. We
were trapped.
Nora: It felt inevitable that the police were not going to let them through, and the protesters
weren’t going to turn away. I had a big sense that this isn’t going to end well because the police
already showed up this way and it’s their way or nothing.
At some point, I talked to a Cal Poly police officer and asked, “are you really going to tear gas
me and these students?” he shrugged and said, “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
I’d be walking back and forth behind the protest line to check in on protesters to see how they
were doing. At one point some of the protesters started to turn back. There was an attempt to
turn back and turn in a different direction. Then they decided that that was splintering and
came back.
Penny: Blocking all of Santa Rosa and not giving anyone a forward moving option is
not viable for creating consensus. Protesters just kept saying they wanted to move
forward. There was nowhere to turn except to turn around. Someone had to backdown and it
was either going to be police or protesters. It didn’t feel like it was the role of protesters to back
down from the people (police) who had been intimidating them all day.
Protesters never tried to get through the barricades. If there had been an option to turn left,
we would have done that. The police line blocked all of Santa Rosa. Protesters on the bullhorn
were trying to say we're not trying to get on the interstate that they wanted to protest in front
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of the police station. Police weren’t really interacting. We couldn’t see anyone’s face except
for the San Luis Obispo Police Captain. Everyone else had full mask and riot gear. There were
lots of different agencies present, a large police presence, lots of cars. What stood out to
me was the protest had no clear leadership on the protester side or the police side.
I also remember people noting that the police Chief wasn't even there. People and leaders were
questioning why the Chief wasn't the one present when she was who people had a relationship
with.
Police Concerns of Protesters Reentering the Highway
Anthony: I needed to know as a peacekeeper what to be ready for. I didn’t hear at any point
anybody say, “we’re going back on the highway”. I don’t know if people were aware that by
virtue of going north on Santa Rosa that we were getting close to the highway. I didn’t hear
that. That was not the goal.
Christopher: One of the speakers got on a bullhorn and said that the police thought they were
going on the highway again but that they’re not going on the highway again. The speaker said
that a number of times. People wanted to walk down Santa Rosa. Protesters had ruled getting
back on the highway out. They were just trying to walk down Santa Rosa.
Jackie: There was no clear intention or directive to get on the freeway again. There was no
intention to do anything, but we were just stuck there and turning around felt like defeat. We
were trapped.
Getting on the freeway a second time would have been really anti-climactic. We were tired.
This had been going on for 6 hours and we had walked miles and miles. Re-entering the
freeway wasn’t in the cards.
Communication: The Police Dispersal Order and Announcements Amongst the Crowd
Alberto: There was a helicopter circling and there was a single propeller plane flying overhead.
They were taking turns constantly hovering over the protesters. I think that contributed to the
chaos. It was hard to hear, with the flying and circling overhead. That, and there were a ton of
people who were conversing.
Some announcements were made from police. I was right up on the line and I couldn’t hear
them. There were 2-3 announcements in that intersection while I was there. I could hear
the bullhorn, but I couldn’t make out what was said at all. No one really wanted to leave.
People wanted to stay there and stand their ground and be there at the protest.
At that point one of the speakers got up on the megaphone on a bullhorn and said that the
police were saying this is an unlawful protest. The speaker had to repeat what was being said
because there were a lot of people and a lot of aircraft. I could see but I couldn’t hear
what they were saying. It was basically “hey guys, were not doing anything wrong standing
here. But they want us to leave. We don’t want you to feel unsafe so you can stay but we want
you to avoid anything uncomfortable. We’re not keeping you here, please go home.”
All I could tell is that the police were trying to say something. The officer making the
announcement was way at the back behind police lines. I couldn’t hear words just that
someone was trying to say something over a loudspeaker. I couldn’t hear it over the din of the
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crowd and sounds of the helicopter. It didn’t seem like the police tried very hard to let
everyone know. If you want people to hear, you bring the bullhorn forward not in the back
where no one can hear it. The front-line officers were having conversations with everyone.
If they had told those protesters at the front that there was a dispersal order it would have
spread very quickly. The police didn’t take into account the noise levels and what would make it
loud enough or they didn’t try very hard.
Anthony: One of the speakers had left the protest. They had been exhausted, tired, and had
left. They returned later and announced something akin to, “guys it’s not worth it to stand here
and provoke the cops. This is a marathon not a race. Let’s head back to the park.” If I were a
protester, I would have followed them, but as a peacekeeper I stayed with the cordon, the pods
up against the cops. About a third of the protesters left with the dispersing group. Enough
protesters stayed and more were coming, and then word got out that when sundown happens,
we were going to get dispersed. We were seeing tear gas canisters, bean bag guns. We were
watching them get ready to menace us.
Christopher: The protesters’ bullhorn was more effective than the police’s. I couldn’t hear what
the police were saying. It was far back, and nobody knew what the police were saying. The
police had a bullhorn too, but it was weak. People who got arrested didn’t know they were
going to get arrested. The speaker in the protest was trying to communicate this but no
communication came from the police. All the people who were arrested later told me that
they didn’t know what was going on. It felt arbitrary to see who got arrested.
Jackie: A speaker in the group got up and said something like, “ok guys, we’re going to get
teargassed. If you’re down for that cool. Stay. I’m going to go.” Some left. Another speaker got
on the megaphone and said, “I’m tired.”. A man on the front line said, “We got you baby girl.
You go home and we’ll stay here.” That’s when “team standoff” won. Nobody knew what to
do.
Jo: There was an elderly Black man at the front of the line who tried to leave. He rose his hands
in the air and said, “I’m too old for this shit” and tried to cross the line of officers to go. One of
the officers who was a Cal Poly police officer actually shoved a baton into the elderly man’s
abdomen and told him to stay back on the protester side because nobody was supposed to
cross the line. I thought it was interesting because an acquaintance who had joined just a
bit earlier had crossed the line from behind the officers. They had been coming from behind
and essentially was like “pardon me”, the officers stepped aside and let him join the protest.
The premise from the police was “don’t cross the line” when my acquaintance had just crossed
the line. They police were just stopping us from continuing this peaceful protest. If the
goal was to stop us from getting on the highway, they would have set up a barricade on the
highway, not on Santa Rosa.
The police were pretty straightforward and simple with their dispersal order. They got on a
megaphone- which is an interesting way to get hundreds of people to listen. You’re outside in
open space and sound travels in different directions. It’s going to get lost if you only have one. I
saw one officer go to a handheld megaphone and say, “Here’s our dispersal order. This
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gathering is now determined an unlawful gathering. You have 15 minutest to disperse or face
legal consequences” or some form of that. I was right at the police line so that’s why I heard it.
Nora: I was trying to get answers because the police weren’t saying anything to the general
crowd. I couldn't tell who was in charge with the police line. I couldn't tell if there was some
kind of negotiation that could have happened. I was trying to get some information and see if
there was a way to negotiate out of this, essentially. By negotiate I mean if the police could
stand down and allow us to proceed, it wouldn’t have resulted in a violent confrontation.
Rosie: I joined after the blockade had already happened. I wasn’t part of the march, so when I
joined the protest was already at a standstill. We were in the street and there was a helicopter
and a huge police line and people with megaphones behind the police lines. I couldn't hear
what police were saying- instead information was disseminated by protesters. We tried to talk
to police at the line asking what we’re supposed to do, and they were stone faced silent. We
had the end goal of marching to Foothill, so we were going to stay until they moved. As we
asked around “what did they say?” protesters would share “we have to move back on the
sidewalk” but minimal information got through. I know there were some people face to face
with officers, but any information shared up there couldn’t be heard by the crowd and the
officers on the megaphone were 20-30 feet behind the line- we couldn't hear anything
especially with the helicopter and the crowd.
Police Advance
Alberto: I was taking videos on my phone documenting everything. Everyone was sitting down.
The police were plugging as many holes as possible with officers to get their line as thick as
possible. Then they took a choreographed aggressive step forward. Everyone freaked out and
started running away. One woman was sitting on the ground and an officer hit her with his
shield and used it as a battering weapon against her. I think she got arrested too.
It came out of nowhere. Nobody was up and yelling in their faces. Everyone was seated and the
police provoked this action.
Everyone started to run up Santa Rosa to get away. Once they got enough space- about 10
feet- is when the police started opening fire at the protesters. People had their backs to them. I
think they were foam bullets. I do know they were using mace. One guy was trying to pull his
backpack to his face and the police officer was shaking a can and spraying it in the guy’s face. At
the same time, you could see the pepper bullets popping on the ground.
We ran away and then I came back to see what was going on. There were angry protesters
about 40-50 feet away still yelling at police. It was getting darker, approaching nightfall, and I
did notice someone hiding out behind the building who threw a firework at the police. I don’t
know where it landed, it was kind of chaotic.
Anthony: Police started pushing protesters back- I think that some protesters were pushed
down and then helped back up. Flash bangs were used. The pepper balls started getting shot
out. Foam rounds started being shot out. We were dispersed. There were pops of flash bangs.
People were screaming, yelling, and running back. There was teargas in the air. I started
bolting. I remember hearing foam rounds hitting people- people were screaming and I heard
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foam rounds bouncing off their backpacks. I heard them bouncing off the ground. Ominous
white balls were emitting smoke. Some people turned back and wanted to yell at the
cops. It was scary. The sun had gone down, streetlights were turning on, and it looked like a war
zone. People were getting pelted with stuff. I took the role of getting tear gas out of people’s
eyes. This was a thing I had expected so I got water bottles out. People were coming up crying
and screaming. I was pouring water on them to try to get it out of their eyes. I didn’t see any
blood, but lots of people with burning eyes. I made sure the people who were so amped up that
they wanted to go back to the cops didn't- I wanted to make sure they were ushered away. The
cops had arrested at least 8 people that night. They got their people. They got their arrests.
Jackie: I was stuck- me and some others- were stuck by the fountain and that’s when the police
started pushing. It was really scary- they push, and then you’re afraid to get trampled in the
crowd. We were stuck. My friend asked a woman cop who shouted “move!” where we could
go because we were wedged against a wall. The cop told her to climb the wall. People were
climbing over the fountain. We were honestly stuck and asked, “where do we go?” we were
scared. It was really scary. It was intense. It felt like war. It was scary. The coughing, the tear gas
in the lungs was very irritating. It was scary. Scary and running as fast as I could not knowing
where my friends were. I was totally in shock. I knew intellectually that it was coming, but
I didn’t know exactly what that was going to look like- pepper balls, rubber bullets, tear gas. I
stayed because I felt like I needed to. To bear witness and if other people are there-
especially young Black people- it felt like an obligation to stay. Even though I knew it was
coming, it was scary when it actually happened.
Justice: I heard flash bang sounds like fireworks and then police started shooting tear gas.
Everyone started screaming and running. I saw two protesters who had been pepper sprayed in
the face at close contact. I tried to give first aid. Very few people were left in that immediate
area, and then the police went even harder with pepper spray and rubber bullets- bright pink-
not even rubber, just hard pellets. I started screaming. I was so upset because I was giving first
aid and this violence was coming at us. These were young unarmed people protesting. I got hit
by one of the metal canisters on my foot. I now have a heat scar that burned through my pant
leg. I’m going to remember this moment for the rest of my life when I look at this scar. I want
an accounting of all the weapons that were shot. What was it? What hit me on the leg and
scarred me?
Nora: A few minutes after they put on gas masks, I started to back up because I didn’t want to
be tear gassed. Then basically the protesters were shouting “show me what democracy looks
like” and decided to sit. It was really powerful imagery. Tear gas canisters were coming at them
and then there was a flash bang thrown from the police into the protesters.
Penny: At that point I was across from the police station. We had crossed the street to try to
leave. We didn’t want to get teargassed. Police were pointing canisters up the hill. We were
stopped there because they were losing control of the group, and the police flanked us back in,
through the bushes, back to the group and then they deployed the tear gas. They made us walk
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right into it. They had cut off Walnut and put us back in the group that was just teargassed. We
had to leave and run up the hill through the teargas.
That’s when I heard a loud bang. We were ducking, like we were being shot. I put my arm
around my friend. There was so much happening I don’t know what happened first. I never saw
anyone throw anything.
Then people were trying to jump on a wall and through bushes. They didn’t want to go into
the teargas. I was at the top of the hill watching. The street was full of teargas. I remember
hearing and seeing what looked like a flash/firecracker and big bangs. That was the most
disorienting. After two rounds of teargas, people started to really leave.
Rosie: I was behind the police line and I saw a flash bang shoot over the line from the police
side into the protesters. I saw a black thing fly overhead- I thought it was a drone- and then felt
the ground shake and saw the flash of light and smoke. The only thing I saw coming back from
the protester side was a water bottle.
Sam: I was at Walnut and lots of protesters moved to the sidewalk, which left me and 3 other
people sitting in the street. We were sitting on the ground, hands on our heads when we were
arrested. Then all hell broke loose- they started shooting. Even people who were on the
sidewalk were shot at.
It was terrifying. I am a very small person. I don’t need four cops to come and arrest me when
I’m doing nothing. We started moving off Walnut because the cops were pushing people on the
sidewalk. Tensions were rising and we tried to deescalate by sitting and chanting “hands up
don’t shoot”. We were clearly unarmed people sitting on the ground. Police were about to use
force against a lot of children with their hands up.
Arrests
Rosie: All of a sudden, all the police officers got in a straight line and started pushing against us
on the sidewalks with shields and batons up. They started all together pushing into us as if to
knock the crowd back. I was next to one of my friends and a Correctional Officer was pushing
against me. I stood my ground not pushing back but not letting myself be knocked over. He
grabbed my wrist and yanked me and said, “you’re under arrest” and pulled me behind police
lines. He dragged me behind the line. He then patted himself and said, “I don’t have any cuffs”.
We then were walking around and he’s asking other officers for cuffs. He found an officer that
gave him flexicuffs. They bound me so tight that I had bruises for days. I was walked over to
the officers who were with the detainment van and there was someone who had been arrested
just before me. We were walking 3-4 feet apart to the detainment van. They’re obviously white
and I’m obviously Latina. I had a little sweater on, with the cuffs on, and the officer stuck her
hand in all my pockets, checked my hood, checked my sweater pockets, stuck her hand in my
waistband, my underwear, pulled my bra away from my body. She took my shoes and grabbed
around my socks and then I was put in the back of the van by myself into one section. They
bagged all my property, took my name and info. In the van we protesters were talking with
each other- how are you doing? Are you ok? And I said, “my shoes are annoying me after the
search” and they said “What do you mean? Why were your shoes off? We didn’t get
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searched”. They were both white. I said, “You didn't get searched?” and they said “No- they
just put us in the van.”
We were in the detainment van from about 8PM to about 10 and then the van drove us to the
county jail, and we were all processed. I was processed last. They put us into a holding cell and
then took us back out to take our picture and get fingerprints. When they did that to me the
officers in the room were asking “what are you going to do after this? You going to loot? You
want a new tv?”
After being in there a while we talked to each other and we agreed we’d all look away when
someone used the toilet. I gave someone my thin blanket. It was really cold.
Later on, when I got my arrest records, they had the wrong officer’s name. While we were in
the van, they asked for my information again to write out the report because the person who
arrested me hadn’t done the report. Someone else filled it out who wasn’t the arresting officer.
They filled out my paperwork after the fact.
We were given a couple minutes to look through our phones and write down phone numbers,
but officers were impatient. I wrote down my mom and dad’s numbers but they didn’t answer
because it was midnight, and they were asleep. That should have been my first instinct to call a
friend who could pick me up. We knew that if we couldn’t get someone to pick us up that night,
then we were going to have to wait until morning to get released.
Sam: I wasn’t read rights. I don’t think any of us arrestees were. Police pulled us back behind
the police line. It seemed disorganized. They zip tied us with our arms behind our backs, walked
me to the police station, didn’t know where to put me, and made me walk backwards to a
van. We were split up by gender in 2 different vans. We were put in the back of a van. They
asked questions- got our information. All they said to me was that I was under arrest. The cop
who filled out the arrest report wasn’t the guy who arrested us.
They took us to jail and they took us out and processed us, logging everything we had. First
thing they took off our bodies were our masks. They took off the zip ties at that point,
processed us, put us in a waiting cell. They didn’t interact with us for a while. They didn't tell us
what we were in jail for.
It was about another 40 minutes before another cop came and one at a time read us our
charges. Said we might be able to leave that night.
Another 30 minutes pass before another cop comes and says, “do you even know why you’re
still waiting in these cells?" We said, “I don’t know” and then the cop said “oh yeah, you’re
actually waiting for someone to pick you up. You have to call them.”
I’m now spending the next three hours hoping someone will get me. They wouldn’t give
us access to our cell phones to look up our contacts. Now I know you’re supposed to
write phone numbers on your arm because you don’t have access to contact information when
you’re arrested. They said they needed a warrant for me to be able to access my phone.
We were in that cell for about 30 minutes before we got a mask. We asked a few times asking
them for one.
While I was being read my charges, the cops were cracking jokes about how I was some kind of
cult leader. When I asked them where the other van might be (it hadn’t arrived yet), one of
the cops said, “I don’t know they’re probably getting gassed or something”. It was ridiculous.
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One cop defended using rubber bullets because someone had thrown a water bottle, while
the cops were fully decked out in riot gear and shields.
At 10 PM, people had come to pick me up, but there was an additional 2 hours for
them to complete the paperwork. Police didn’t tell me during that time that anyone was
coming to pick me up. They didn’t tell me there were people already there and just waiting for
paperwork to be processed.
I was really losing my shit in there. I got out around midnight. While I was there, I wasn’t
talking very much but I have crazy anxiety as is. This was horrifying and nerve-wracking. It was
radio doom and gloom in my head for four hours.
What Still Resonates, Remaining Questions
Alberto: I was pretty weary of police before, now I’ve galvanized against them. I think that with
seeing all the acts of violence against protesters in the past months in combination with it
happening to me- I don’t like police at all now.
The police were the aggressors and they really tried to cover their ass. How are you going to
show up to a protest that at its very core is about police violence against their own citizens and
then go on and commit violence against your own citizens? You show up and shoot and gas
people. I would suggest to police to not be a stereotype- out there hurting people. It’s your
community that you live in and you know these people. Treat them as your neighbors not your
enemies.
Anne: I really think everyone was trying to do their best in a complicated situation. But
unfortunately, the best the police were trained to do was inherently violent, over-reactionary,
and escalating and that’s why this went down the way it did.
Anthony: Something changed in SLO that day. As someone thinking about having kids here- this
is my community. I live downtown. We now know that the SLO PD is willing to use what could
be lethal force- to break up a bunch of kids that were justifiably angry. They can’t undo or deny
the fact that they teargassed us.
The way in which people in this community will bend over backwards to justify anything the
cops do is scary. I’m Jewish and that informs why I'm committed to social justice- what I’m
seeing in the community is a bunch of people who, were they regular normal people living in
30’s or 40’s Germany would have enabled a lot of awful behavior. They would have stood by
and looked the other way. I’m not going to compare college students getting tear gassed to
the Holocaust, but I saw that undercurrent in SLO community members responding to the tear
gas. That scared me more than the actual protest. People were primed to blame the protesters
and look for excuses for the behavior of the police department. It’s the “lone wolf’ people that I
think are emboldened by police using force that scares me the most.
I don’t want to change the culture of policing; I want police defunded- to take the weapons out
of their hands and for that money to go to help people and the community.
I don’t want empty promises and shit that we know won’t work- like police accountability
commissions. I want actual change that stops cops from harming people.
There is still outstanding confusion- we still don’t know who to be angry at. The Chief? The
Captains? City council? The city manager? Our civic muscle as Americans and Californians is so
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atrophied that we don’t know how power is actually built and consolidated and wielded.
Everyone is passing the buck, and I still don’t think people know what happened and who's
call this was.
Christopher: This was a very heavy-handed approach that didn’t make sense. The Chief later
went on to say a lot of things that weren’t true. The police weren’t good at communicating. If I
were managing, I would tell them to block highway entrances/exits, use multiple megaphones,
tell officers at front that they’d communicate with people who would be arrested. I wonder
why the Chief wasn’t there. I want to know why the Chief wasn’t there. Why did they think that
this was such a serious event that they would call 110 officers from all over the county- why did
they think that was necessary? They were heavily deployed, and I want to know why they
invested in that in the first place. SLO is a safe space so I don’t know the need for those
supplies. I‘d like to know the cost and why they got those supplies in the first place. I want to
know why two of the arrestees were picked when they were just sitting there not really doing
anything. Why did they single them out? They chose to charge five people for a supposed crime
that 300 protesters committed at the same time.
Jo: To this day I will always be more wary of police officers. I don’t trust any officers. I thought
SLO was going to be a place where these things wouldn’t happen. The police in this
instance were not protecting and serving. They took the interest of public and private property
to be more important than the lives of folk. I’ve since spoken to police officers and they get
very technical with what chemicals and weapons were used. They get caught up on the
technical language. The technicality of things is a way to get around what they did to disperse
the crowd for controlling purposes.
Justice: The emotion of the violence is still resonating with me. To see peaceful young people-
those high school students with their craft signs and seeing the sounds and smell and the
violence from the police was awful- the violence from a police force that’s supposed to be
neutral and helping people. And it’s San Luis Obispo.
Who authorized the plan to bring extra law enforcement in tactical riot gear? What Governing
Authority gave the authorization of law enforcement in riot gear? (City Council? Police chief?
City Administrator? Emergency Service director?) What was the approval process and who was
involved in the decision making? What were the law enforcement agents directed to do? What
was the expense for these measures and what agency paid for this? City? County? Did the funds
come from a city budget? Were the funds allocated from another community service? Which
law enforcement agencies were present and how many officers from each agency? (SLOPD? Cal
Poly UPD? Sheriff? State Prison?) What was the purpose of the use of drones and what agencies
are they from? Who authorized the FAA license to fly the drones in a public downtown core?
What was the cost of this? What will the footage be used for?
I want an accounting of all the weapons that were shot at unarmed protesters. What was it?
What hit me on the leg and scarred me?
Nora: What happened on June 1st was a judgement call made by SLO PD that makes me
question their judgment. Makes me question the role of SLO PD and campus police in keeping
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people safe. Because they did not keep people safe that day. If they think they did, I wonder
who they think they were keeping safe because it was not the youth at the protest. I don’t trust
their judgment.
It also made me aware that we have a very militarized police for a small town with little crime. I
wonder what the point of that is. I want people to think about the militarization of police
locally.
Sam: There was a huge community support afterwards. People donated to bail funds we didn’t
even need. Legal representation was provided pro bono. I talked to people in the news and
with my professors. Professors called me. There was an almost overwhelming amount of
support. It was beautiful and unexpected. You usually hear the opposite about SLO.
What stuck with me was this blind belief in the police narrative. We’re only getting that one
side- I don’t know how that doesn’t clue people in or have them think about why they’re only
getting a one-sided story. I don’t understand why people are so willing to jump to the defense
of the police but not people in the community.
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Process Chart for the After Action Review of the June 1, 2020 Protest March
Implement Recommendations: All Recommendations Have Been Implemented or Are In The Process of
Implementation at Time of AAR Publishing
Communicate Findings: Provide AAR Presentation to Council on February 16, 2021
Develope Findings and Recommendations
Conduct Analysis
Identify and Engage Key Stakeholders: Mansager Conducted Independent Interviews with Community
Memebers Involved in the Protest
Conduct Research on the Incident, Compile Relevant Materials, Review Information
Select a Team or Lead to Conduct AAR: Command Staff with Consultants Bueerman & Mansager
Determine the Type of AAR to Conduct
June 16, 2020 Council Direction to Staff to Coduct After Action Review
June 1, 2020 Protest March
Attachment 2
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Memorandum
Date: January 6, 2021
To: Derek Johnson
City Manager, City of San Luis Obispo
Capt. Jeff Smith, Interim Chief of Police
San Luis Obispo Police Department
From: Chief Jim Bueermann (Ret.)
jbueermann@futurepolicing.org
909.557.6563
Subject: Review of San Luis Obispo PD’s After Action Report
Summary
I have reviewed the San Luis Obispo Police Department’s (SLOPD) After Action Report which
focused on the actions the department and supporting allied agencies took during a community
protest in San Luis Obispo (SLO) on 6-1-20. It is my opinion that it meets generally accepted
criteria for a “after action review” of the type desired by Chief Cantrell when she engaged my
services. It answers the fundamental questions of what happened, why it happened and what
can be done in the future to avoid similar outcomes.
Discussion
In August 2020 I entered into an agreement with then Chief Cantrell to conduct a review of the
SLOPD June 1, 2020 After Action draft report. I was not engaged to conduct the review
itself nor interview department or community members. I have reviewed the pertinent media
reports, the community consultant’s report and have spoken with the SLOPD interim chief
and the SLOPD staff member responsible for conducting the review. In doing so, I have
discussed the process of conducting reviews such as this, the complicated nature of
policing or participating in public protests and best practices for reviewing critical incidents.
In addition, we have discussed the value of SLOPD becoming a learning organization. I
have found Interim Chief Smith’s interest in furthering the development of the police
department in this regard to be impressive and quite encouraging.
I have also worked with the community consultant to facilitate her understanding of policing
practices and protest dynamics. I found her to be appropriately objective and very focused
on capturing the observations and perceptions of several community members who
participated in the 6-1-20 protest.
Policing in America today is a complicated matter. The police are called upon to handle
some of the most complicated situations our society faces. Many of these situations have
Attachment 3
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less than optimal outcomes. In those instances, it is imperative that the police learn what
happened, why it happened and how to improve outcomes in future similar situations.
Failure to learn from previous events frequently produces similar poor outcomes. To quote
noted philosopher George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are
condemned to repeat it.” In a policing context, this represents the importance of truly
learning from an incident or event and applying that new understanding to similar future
endeavors in the hopes of achieving better results.
The mechanism most widely utilized by the police for understanding critical incidents or
events are “After Action Reviews” (AAR’s) or “Critical Incident Reviews” (CIR’s). They are
fundamental to the development of a healthy, accountable and community-engaged police
department. Honest and self-critical reviews of the various critical incidents or events that
the police are charged with resolving or managing is essential to maintaining the public’s
trust and confidence in the local governmental entity paid to protect it. This is especially true
today as police “reform” is still front-of-mind for so many community members and policy
makers.
The best model for less rigorous AAR/CIR’s is one that is initiated by the police (as opposed
to an outside entity compelling the review), is framed around a non-blaming approach, is
apolitical and answers the basic questions related to what happened, why it happened and
what was learned and contains community input and observations. All of these elements
are present in the SLOPD effort I reviewed.
AAR’s/CIR’s are developed under a variety of circumstances and their format and effort
reflect those variables. They also reflect the organization’s commitment to on-going learning
and improvement. For instance, police response to an in-progress burglary, a public protest,
and an active-shooter incident are all examples of incidents that call for varying levels of
departmental review. When the police respond to an in-progress burglary, for example, the
review of the department’s actions would appropriately take place at the squad or team level
and may be rather informal. Police actions in a protest with less-than-optimal outcomes
would dictate a more formal review with community observations included. A police
representative can also appropriately conduct this type of review. And finally, an active-
shooter incident would dictate a holistic, all-encompassing review of police practices and
policies, the role of other involved organizations, leadership component, a focus on training
and organizational culture, communications, policies and practices, a comprehensive review
of the perpetrator’s background, etc. These should be conducted by an independent third-
party. These reviews are the most comprehensive types of reviews – but they are also the
most arduous, time consuming and expensive.
Chief Cantrell and I discussed the type of review we thought would be appropriate to learn
from the 6-1-20 protest given fiscal and resource constraints. She was leaning toward one
conducted by a SLOPD staff member and I agreed with that decision.
Findings
It is my opinion that the SLOPD AAR pertaining to the 6-1-20 protest meets the generally
accepted criteria for a “after action review” of the type desired by Chief Cantrell when she
Packet Page 62
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engaged my services. It answers the fundamental questions of what happened, why it
happened and what can be done in the future to avoid similar outcomes. More importantly, it
appears to be the impetus to a more rigorous effort on the part of the department’s current
leadership to develop the SLOPD into a “learning organization” that is continually focused on
improving it policies, procedures and practices and anchoring on-going learning to its
organizational culture.
It is evident to me that the leadership of the SLOPD did not wait for the review to be completed
before enacting some necessary changes to the tactics, equipment or resources they might use
in managing future protests. My understanding is that there have been several protests in San
Luis Obispo since the one on 6-1-20, all of which had much better outcomes. This is an
indication, that, in part, the lessons learned by the SLOPD from the 6-1-20 protest more than
likely contributed to improved outcomes. In addition, the behavior and actions of protest
participants since 6-1-20 may have also changed to facilitate a more peaceful expression of
their 1st Amendment rights.
Recommendations
Based on my review of the SLOPD after action report of the 6-1-20 protest, and my discussions
with SLOPD staff and the community consultant, I make the following general
recommendations for advancing democratic policing in San Luis Obispo:
1.Anchor the notion of a learning organization to the culture of the SLOPD through
training and the use of informal and formal AAR’s/CIR’s, establishing a strategy to collect
the “lessons learned,” requiring a variety of staff members to conduct the reviews, etc.;
2.Continue to review advances in crowd and protest management as determined by the
most prominent national policing and research organizations;
3.Conduct tabletop simulations of potential protests to identify optimal tactics and plans
for managing future protests;
4.Persist with the initiative to engage the community, especially those segments
interested in public protests; and,
5.Consider collaborating with local or regional mediation organizations that can be helpful
in facilitating open and productive dialogue between the police and protest community
(such as is advocated by the Trust Network –
https://mediatorsbeyondborders.org/trust/)
Resources
The following are resources the SLOPD can use to further its development as a learning
organization and conduct future after action/critical incident reviews. It is not a comprehensive
collection but does provide the department with sufficient resources to begin advancing its
organizational learning philosophy.
Packet Page 63
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How to Conduct an After Action Review by the National Police Foundation
(www.policefoundation.org), a USDOJ Office of Community Oriented Policing publication.
Critical Incident Review Library, National Police Foundation
(https://www.policefoundation.org/critical-incident-review-library/
Debriefings and after action reviews by Sid Heal, a Summer 2009 Tactical Edge article
Policing Protests – Lessons Learned from the Occupy Movement, Ferguson & Beyond: A Guide
for Police by Edward R. Maguire and Megan Oakley (a Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
publication)
Protecting and Facilitating the Right to Engage in Peaceful Protests and Demonstrations, a
report to Governor Gavin Newsom by Ron Davis and Lateefah Simmon
Report on the 2020 Protests and Civil Unrest, a publication of the Major Cities Chiefs Association
Knowledge Management in Policing by T. David Chavez, Michael Pendleton and Jim
Bueermann, a USDOJ Office of Community Oriented Policing publication.
Becoming a Learning Organization: What is a learning organization and why should the criminal
justice community care? by Joe Binns at www.police1.com
Bueermann Biography
Chief Jim Bueermann (Ret.) has spent more than 40 years in policing. From 1978 to 2011 he was
a member of the Redlands (CA) Police Department, where he served in every unit within the
department. In his last 13 years with the department, he was the Chief of Police and Director of
Housing, Recreation and Senior Services. He directed the implementation and strategic
development of community policing in Redlands which included directing the consolidation of
Housing, Recreation and Senior Services into the police department as a risk and preventative
factor strategy for reducing crime and adolescent problem behavior. In 2000, this effort was
recognized by the Innovations in American Government Award program (Harvard’s Kennedy
School) as one of the 25 most innovative governmental programs in America.
After his retirement in 2011 he worked for a year for the USDOJ, National Institute of Justice as
an Executive Fellow. In 2012 he was appointed the president of the National Police Foundation
(NPF) - America's oldest non-partisan, non-profit police research organization. During his tenure
at the NPF he supervised numerous critical incident reviews and police reform efforts involving
some of the most noteworthy policing incidents in America. These included: the civil unrest in
Ferguson, MO after the Michael Brown shooting by police; the “Christopher Dorner Incident” in
which a former Los Angeles police officer began hunting LAPD executives and their families
(resulting in several murders of civilians and police officers); the Stockton, CA bank robbery in
which a hostage was inadvertently killed by the police; the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting in
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Orlando, FL; the Uber driver serial killer in Kalamazoo, MI; the county response to the tragic
mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County, FL; the husband-wife
terrorist mass shooting in San Bernardino, CA; the January 2017 response by the Washington,
DC Metropolitan Police Department to the Presidential Inauguration protest demonstration;
and, a controversial murder investigation in Arcata, CA. He retired from the Foundation in late
2018.
He was one of the first police chiefs to be inducted as an honorary fellow into the Academy of
Experimental Criminology and into the halls of fame at George Mason University’s Center for
Evidence Based Crime Policy (VA) and the School of Behavioral Science at California State
University, San Bernardino (CA). In 2018 he was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Award
in Evidence-Based Crime Policy by George Mason University’s Center for Evidence Based Crime
Policy.
Chief Bueermann sits on advisory boards at Cambridge University’s Institute of Criminology,
Executive Development Program, George Mason University’s Center for Evidence Based Crime
Policy, Axon’s (market leader in police body cameras) AI and Police Technology Ethics Board
and Lexipol’s (nation-wide public safety policy/risk management firm) Law Enforcement
Advisory Council. He currently serves as the policing advisor to the national Trust Network, a
consortium of local mediation centers, founded by Mediators without Borders, International,
focused on reducing pre/post election-related violence in America. He is also the policing
advisor to Police2Peace a non-profit organization aiming to anchor the framework of “peace
officers” to the American policing culture. He also serves as the Strategic Site Liaison to the
Anchorage Police Department (AK) for the US Department of Justice’s National Public Safety
Partnership initiative focusing on violence reduction in key jurisdictions throughout the U.S.
Until his retirement from the NPF he sat on the FBI Academy National Academy Advisory Board
and served as the research advisor to the California Police Chiefs Association. Appointed by
Attorney General Eric Holder, he served on the US Department of Justice’s Science Advisory
Board from 2015 until the end of 2018. In addition, he was appointed to the National
Academies of Sciences Working Group on Crime Trends and its Panel on Proactive Policing.
Chief Bueermann has worked extensively on advanced technology projects in policing that
include mobile devices, crime mapping, community analysis, social networks, surveillance
cameras, drones, sentiment analysis, data mining, geospatial tracking, virtual reality and
artificial intelligence. He has also worked extensively in the field of evidence-based policing and
prisoner reentry. He is a charter member of the Police Futurists International and is a founding
member of the American Society of Evidence Based Policing.
He has done extensive lecturing on a wide breadth of policing issues across the U.S. and
internationally. He has worked extensively with local and national community and advocacy
groups, bureaucrats and politicians on police reform issues. In addition, he has conducted
national and international interviews with a wide breadth of media sources such as USA Today,
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the New York Times, the LA Times, CNN, NBC, CBS, Fox News, KNX News Radio, the BBC and
numerous other international publications.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from California State University at San Bernardino and a master’s
degree from the University of Redlands. In addition, he is a graduate of the FBI’s National
Academy in Quantico, Virginia and the California Command College.
In January 2019, Chief Bueermann founded Future Policing Strategies, a California- based
consultancy that helps practitioners, policymakers and community members envision and
advance policing for the future.
Packet Page 66
Memorandum
Date: January 6, 2021
To: Derek Johnson
City Manager, City of San Luis Obispo
Capt. Jeff Smith, Interim Chief of Police
San Luis Obispo Police Department
From: Chief Jim Bueermann (Ret.)
jbueermann@futurepolicing.org
909.557.6563
Subject: Review of San Luis Obispo PD’s After Action Report
Summary
I have reviewed the San Luis Obispo Police Department’s (SLOPD) After Action Report which
focused on the actions the department and supporting allied agencies took during a community
protest in San Luis Obispo (SLO) on 6-1-20. It is my opinion that it meets generally accepted
criteria for a “after action review” of the type desired by Chief Cantrell when she engaged my
services. It answers the fundamental questions of what happened, why it happened and what
can be done in the future to avoid similar outcomes.
Discussion
In August 2020 I entered into an agreement with then Chief Cantrell to conduct a review of the
SLOPD June 1, 2020 After Action draft report. I was not engaged to conduct the review
itself nor interview department or community members. I have reviewed the pertinent media
reports, the community consultant’s report and have spoken with the SLOPD interim chief
and the SLOPD staff member responsible for conducting the review. In doing so, I have
discussed the process of conducting reviews such as this, the complicated nature of
policing or participating in public protests and best practices for reviewing critical incidents.
In addition, we have discussed the value of SLOPD becoming a learning organization. I
have found Interim Chief Smith’s interest in furthering the development of the police
department in this regard to be impressive and quite encouraging.
I have also worked with the community consultant to facilitate her understanding of policing
practices and protest dynamics. I found her to be appropriately objective and very focused
on capturing the observations and perceptions of several community members who
participated in the 6-1-20 protest.
Policing in America today is a complicated matter. The police are called upon to handle
some of the most complicated situations our society faces. Many of these situations have
Attachment 4
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less than optimal outcomes. In those instances, it is imperative that the police learn what
happened, why it happened and how to improve outcomes in future similar situations.
Failure to learn from previous events frequently produces similar poor outcomes. To quote
noted philosopher George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are
condemned to repeat it.” In a policing context, this represents the importance of truly
learning from an incident or event and applying that new understanding to similar future
endeavors in the hopes of achieving better results.
The mechanism most widely utilized by the police for understanding critical incidents or
events are “After Action Reviews” (AAR’s) or “Critical Incident Reviews” (CIR’s). They are
fundamental to the development of a healthy, accountable and community-engaged police
department. Honest and self-critical reviews of the various critical incidents or events that
the police are charged with resolving or managing is essential to maintaining the public’s
trust and confidence in the local governmental entity paid to protect it. This is especially true
today as police “reform” is still front-of-mind for so many community members and policy
makers.
The best model for less rigorous AAR/CIR’s is one that is initiated by the police (as opposed
to an outside entity compelling the review), is framed around a non-blaming approach, is
apolitical and answers the basic questions related to what happened, why it happened and
what was learned and contains community input and observations. All of these elements
are present in the SLOPD effort I reviewed.
AAR’s/CIR’s are developed under a variety of circumstances and their format and effort
reflect those variables. They also reflect the organization’s commitment to on-going learning
and improvement. For instance, police response to an in-progress burglary, a public protest,
and an active-shooter incident are all examples of incidents that call for varying levels of
departmental review. When the police respond to an in-progress burglary, for example, the
review of the department’s actions would appropriately take place at the squad or team level
and may be rather informal. Police actions in a protest with less-than-optimal outcomes
would dictate a more formal review with community observations included. A police
representative can also appropriately conduct this type of review. And finally, an active-
shooter incident would dictate a holistic, all-encompassing review of police practices and
policies, the role of other involved organizations, leadership component, a focus on training
and organizational culture, communications, policies and practices, a comprehensive review
of the perpetrator’s background, etc. These should be conducted by an independent third-
party. These reviews are the most comprehensive types of reviews – but they are also the
most arduous, time consuming and expensive.
Chief Cantrell and I discussed the type of review we thought would be appropriate to learn
from the 6-1-20 protest given fiscal and resource constraints. She was leaning toward one
conducted by a SLOPD staff member and I agreed with that decision.
Findings
It is my opinion that the SLOPD AAR pertaining to the 6-1-20 protest meets the generally
accepted criteria for a “after action review” of the type desired by Chief Cantrell when she
Advance Item
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engaged my services. It answers the fundamental questions of what happened, why it
happened and what can be done in the future to avoid similar outcomes. More importantly, it
appears to be the impetus to a more rigorous effort on the part of the department’s current
leadership to develop the SLOPD into a “learning organization” that is continually focused on
improving it policies, procedures and practices and anchoring on-going learning to its
organizational culture.
It is evident to me that the leadership of the SLOPD did not wait for the review to be completed
before enacting some necessary changes to the tactics, equipment or resources they might use
in managing future protests. My understanding is that there have been several protests in San
Luis Obispo since the one on 6-1-20, all of which had much better outcomes. This is an
indication, that, in part, the lessons learned by the SLOPD from the 6-1-20 protest more than
likely contributed to improved outcomes. In addition, the behavior and actions of protest
participants since 6-1-20 may have also changed to facilitate a more peaceful expression of
their 1st Amendment rights.
Recommendations
Based on my review of the SLOPD after action report of the 6-1-20 protest, and my discussions
with SLOPD staff and the community consultant, I make the following general
recommendations for advancing democratic policing in San Luis Obispo:
1.Anchor the notion of a learning organization to the culture of the SLOPD through
training and the use of informal and formal AAR’s/CIR’s, establishing a strategy to collect
the “lessons learned,” requiring a variety of staff members to conduct the reviews, etc.;
2.Continue to review advances in crowd and protest management as determined by the
most prominent national policing and research organizations;
3.Conduct tabletop simulations of potential protests to identify optimal tactics and plans
for managing future protests;
4.Persist with the initiative to engage the community, especially those segments
interested in public protests; and,
5.Consider collaborating with local or regional mediation organizations that can be helpful
in facilitating open and productive dialogue between the police and protest community
(such as is advocated by the Trust Network –
https://mediatorsbeyondborders.org/trust/)
Resources
The following are resources the SLOPD can use to further its development as a learning
organization and conduct future after action/critical incident reviews. It is not a comprehensive
collection but does provide the department with sufficient resources to begin advancing its
organizational learning philosophy.
Packet Page 69
4 of 6
How to Conduct an After Action Review by the National Police Foundation
(www.policefoundation.org), a USDOJ Office of Community Oriented Policing publication.
Critical Incident Review Library, National Police Foundation
(https://www.policefoundation.org/critical-incident-review-library/
Debriefings and after action reviews by Sid Heal, a Summer 2009 Tactical Edge article
Policing Protests – Lessons Learned from the Occupy Movement, Ferguson & Beyond: A Guide
for Police by Edward R. Maguire and Megan Oakley (a Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
publication)
Protecting and Facilitating the Right to Engage in Peaceful Protests and Demonstrations, a
report to Governor Gavin Newsom by Ron Davis and Lateefah Simmon
Report on the 2020 Protests and Civil Unrest, a publication of the Major Cities Chiefs Association
Knowledge Management in Policing by T. David Chavez, Michael Pendleton and Jim
Bueermann, a USDOJ Office of Community Oriented Policing publication.
Becoming a Learning Organization: What is a learning organization and why should the criminal
justice community care? by Joe Binns at www.police1.com
Bueermann Biography
Chief Jim Bueermann (Ret.) has spent more than 40 years in policing. From 1978 to 2011 he was
a member of the Redlands (CA) Police Department, where he served in every unit within the
department. In his last 13 years with the department, he was the Chief of Police and Director of
Housing, Recreation and Senior Services. He directed the implementation and strategic
development of community policing in Redlands which included directing the consolidation of
Housing, Recreation and Senior Services into the police department as a risk and preventative
factor strategy for reducing crime and adolescent problem behavior. In 2000, this effort was
recognized by the Innovations in American Government Award program (Harvard’s Kennedy
School) as one of the 25 most innovative governmental programs in America.
After his retirement in 2011 he worked for a year for the USDOJ, National Institute of Justice as
an Executive Fellow. In 2012 he was appointed the president of the National Police Foundation
(NPF) - America's oldest non-partisan, non-profit police research organization. During his tenure
at the NPF he supervised numerous critical incident reviews and police reform efforts involving
some of the most noteworthy policing incidents in America. These included: the civil unrest in
Ferguson, MO after the Michael Brown shooting by police; the “Christopher Dorner Incident” in
which a former Los Angeles police officer began hunting LAPD executives and their families
(resulting in several murders of civilians and police officers); the Stockton, CA bank robbery in
which a hostage was inadvertently killed by the police; the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting in
Advance Item
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5 of 6
Orlando, FL; the Uber driver serial killer in Kalamazoo, MI; the county response to the tragic
mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County, FL; the husband-wife
terrorist mass shooting in San Bernardino, CA; the January 2017 response by the Washington,
DC Metropolitan Police Department to the Presidential Inauguration protest demonstration;
and, a controversial murder investigation in Arcata, CA. He retired from the Foundation in late
2018.
He was one of the first police chiefs to be inducted as an honorary fellow into the Academy of
Experimental Criminology and into the halls of fame at George Mason University’s Center for
Evidence Based Crime Policy (VA) and the School of Behavioral Science at California State
University, San Bernardino (CA). In 2018 he was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Award
in Evidence-Based Crime Policy by George Mason University’s Center for Evidence Based Crime
Policy.
Chief Bueermann sits on advisory boards at Cambridge University’s Institute of Criminology,
Executive Development Program, George Mason University’s Center for Evidence Based Crime
Policy, Axon’s (market leader in police body cameras) AI and Police Technology Ethics Board
and Lexipol’s (nation-wide public safety policy/risk management firm) Law Enforcement
Advisory Council. He currently serves as the policing advisor to the national Trust Network, a
consortium of local mediation centers, founded by Mediators without Borders, International,
focused on reducing pre/post election-related violence in America. He is also the policing
advisor to Police2Peace a non-profit organization aiming to anchor the framework of “peace
officers” to the American policing culture. He also serves as the Strategic Site Liaison to the
Anchorage Police Department (AK) for the US Department of Justice’s National Public Safety
Partnership initiative focusing on violence reduction in key jurisdictions throughout the U.S.
Until his retirement from the NPF he sat on the FBI Academy National Academy Advisory Board
and served as the research advisor to the California Police Chiefs Association. Appointed by
Attorney General Eric Holder, he served on the US Department of Justice’s Science Advisory
Board from 2015 until the end of 2018. In addition, he was appointed to the National
Academies of Sciences Working Group on Crime Trends and its Panel on Proactive Policing.
Chief Bueermann has worked extensively on advanced technology projects in policing that
include mobile devices, crime mapping, community analysis, social networks, surveillance
cameras, drones, sentiment analysis, data mining, geospatial tracking, virtual reality and
artificial intelligence. He has also worked extensively in the field of evidence-based policing and
prisoner reentry. He is a charter member of the Police Futurists International and is a founding
member of the American Society of Evidence Based Policing.
He has done extensive lecturing on a wide breadth of policing issues across the U.S. and
internationally. He has worked extensively with local and national community and advocacy
groups, bureaucrats and politicians on police reform issues. In addition, he has conducted
national and international interviews with a wide breadth of media sources such as USA Today,
Advance Item
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the New York Times, the LA Times, CNN, NBC, CBS, Fox News, KNX News Radio, the BBC and
numerous other international publications.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from California State University at San Bernardino and a master’s
degree from the University of Redlands. In addition, he is a graduate of the FBI’s National
Academy in Quantico, Virginia and the California Command College.
In January 2019, Chief Bueermann founded Future Policing Strategies, a California- based
consultancy that helps practitioners, policymakers and community members envision and
advance policing for the future.
Advance Item
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The Honorable Gavin Newsom
September 28, 2020
1
September 28, 2020
The Honorable Gavin Newsom
Governor of California
State Capitol, Suite 1114
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Governor Newsom:
When you asked us to serve as advisors to you on policing issues, you requested
we provide you recommendations in two key police practices areas:
1) improving police response to demonstrations and protests in order to protect
and facilitate peaceful free speech and expression; and 2) ensuring that
California’s landmark new use of force laws (AB 392 and SB 230) are
implemented appropriately across the state to foster a culture of de-escalation
in which officers use force only when necessary.
The initial phase of our work has focused on policing and demonstrations. We
write today to provide you our recommendations on this topic. We also have
started engaging stakeholders about implementation, training and oversight
issues related to AB 392 and SB 230 and look forward to providing you those
recommendations soon.
As you no doubt are aware, changes to police practices are necessary but far
from sufficient to address the many ways in which structural racism plays out in
connection with policing and the criminal justice system. In addition to sharing
their thoughts and recommendations on protests and use of force policies,
stakeholders have shared with us a range of important broader policy
recommendations related to policing, criminal justice, and racial justice.
These conversations made clear that reimagining the role of law enforcement is
a top priority for many community members and other stakeholders. Time and
again, we heard stakeholders express a strong interest in shifting some funding
away from traditional law enforcement responses to investments in communities
and other types of first responders such as mental health providers and trained
conflict resolution experts. Law enforcement stakeholders agree that police
should not be first responders for handling mental health and socioeconomic
issues. As your advisors, we wholeheartedly agree and endorse the views of
community members and law enforcement in this area.
Attachment 4
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The Honorable Gavin Newsom
September 28, 2020
2
Our recommendations today focus on improving police response to
demonstrations and protests. We recommend that after we complete our use
of force recommendations, you commission an additional phase of this project.
For the new phase, we recommend engagement of stakeholders and
academic partners to develop a roadmap for local law enforcement and
communities to help guide their discussions around reimagining community
safety.
Below, we submit our recommendations for improving police response to
demonstrations and protests. This is a critical issue because the First Amendment
right to protest is fundamental to our democracy.
As the New York Times Editorial Board recently recognized: “When George
Floyd died under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, the scourge of police
violence, festering for generations, became a rallying point for Americans
yearning for the fulfillment of this country’s founding aspiration to promote life,
liberty and happiness.”1 Across California, the country, and globally, the murder
of Mr. Floyd has amplified a much-needed conversation on race, police abuse,
and social injustice. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets,
many for the first time in their lives, to protest racism.
While there are numerous examples of law enforcement professionalism,
restraint, and even solidarity in some instances, there also have been disturbing
and well-documented instances of unnecessary and counterproductive
aggression, instigation, and over-reaction by some police officers and agencies
in response to the demonstrations.
Over the past several weeks, we have participated in dozens of small and large
listening sessions with a wide range of stakeholders and experts from across the
state to hear their concerns and recommendations. We had conversations with
a wide range of community-based organizations and advocacy groups
including racial justice, civil rights and civil liberties advocates, youth and youth
advocacy organizations, and faith-based groups. We also met with statewide
and local law enforcement organizations from small, medium and large cities
across the state. Additionally, we spoke with prosecutors and defense attorneys
and met with Legislators, local officials, and journalists.
Based on our conversations with these stakeholders, there’s a broad consensus
that we can and must do better to protect and facilitate the right to engage in
peaceful protests and demonstrations in California. We also repeatedly heard
1 NYT Editorial Board. “In America, Protest is Patriotic.” New York Times, 2 June 2020,
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/opinion/george-floyd-protests-first-amendment.html
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The Honorable Gavin Newsom
September 28, 2020
3
about challenges in mutual aid response related to differing standards, training,
and expectations among participating agencies.
Our recommendations for improving police response to protests and
demonstrations include the following:
a recommended set of core values;
a summary of key themes that emerged from our listening sessions;
possible executive actions;
possible legislative action; and
a set of general recommendations for law enforcement agencies.
As part of this project, Goldman School of Public Policy Professor Jack Glaser
and his research assistant May Lim conducted a review of available research
and analysis related to policing and demonstrations. They conducted this
review with the goal of understanding what are the most effective practices to
support First Amendment rights while minimizing harms, particularly violence and
property damage. A copy of this review is attached and, where relevant,
promising practices identified from the research have been incorporated into
the recommendations below.
According to the research, policing practices for crowd control have varied
over time, place, and agency. Since the 1960’s the dominant (but not universal)
paradigm in the U.S. has shifted from “escalated force” to “negotiated
management.”
The research is consistent with what we have observed in recent protests and
demonstrations in California. First, the overwhelming majority of protests remain
peaceful. Second, violent elements among protest groups tend to be small and
not inevitably violent or destructive. Third, violence often results from
interactions in the dynamics between police and protesters. Finally,
unnecessary injuries occur and violence escalates when tactical weapons are
used inappropriately by law enforcement.
The research also is consistent with the recommendations we make below,
including reinforcing the importance of the following key concepts as essential
strategies for more effective law enforcement response to protests and
demonstrations:
Coordination and Communication: Police should communicate
clearly with assembled civilians, ideally before demonstrations have
started, but also during, in the service of maintaining safety. Law
enforcement agencies should work to establish and keep open
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The Honorable Gavin Newsom
September 28, 2020
4
lines of communication with protest organizers when possible. They
should also reinforce expectations and values with partnering
agencies in mutual aid relationships to promote consistent
practices.
Avoiding unnecessary enforcement: During protests and
demonstrations, enforcement of low-level offenses or imposing
unnecessary constraints on movement can spark avoidable
conflict. Enforcement should target those who are causing harm in
order to avoid disrupting the First Amendment rights of other
participants.
Minimizing militarization: Militaristic presence (e.g., with armored
vehicles, combat-style helmets or weapons) can be
counterproductive and threatening to peaceful protestors and may
incite or escalate conflict.
Minimizing use of weapons: Deploying weapons, including kinetic
impact projectiles and chemical irritants, can, in addition to causing
injuries and even death, rapidly escalate conflict, and they should
be used as a last resort to protect life and repel assaults when other
means have been exhausted.
We trust that with your leadership and the leadership and partnership of the
Legislature, communities, and law enforcement, it is possible to keep
communities safe while better protecting and facilitating the First Amendment
rights of Californians to engage in peaceful protests and demonstrations.
Sincerely,
Ron Davis Lateefah Simon
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Protecting and Facilitating the Right to Engage in
Peaceful Protests and Demonstrations
Recommended Core Values for Protests
1. Sanctity of Life and protection from physical injury
2. Facilitation of peaceful protests and free expression
3. Protection of property
Key Themes
• Recognition that people have a constitutional right to demonstrate
• Recognition that law enforcement’s role is to facilitate peaceful protests and
demonstrations and protect life above all (property secondarily)
• Recognition that the vast majority of demonstrators are peaceful
• Recognition that there is a better way and there is a need for more
consistency and statewide standards
Proposed Actions - 3 Categories
1. Executive
2. Legislative
3. General Recommendations
Executive
Instruct the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST)
to modernize its 2012 Guidelines on Crowd Management, Intervention,
and Control to focus on protection and facilitation of First Amendment
rights rather than on “management” and “control.”
o Recommend that POST convene stakeholders including law
enforcement, community members, and subject matter
experts to ensure updated guidelines reflect promising
practices and best evidence.
Instruct POST to update, expand, or add the following topics to the Basic
Academy curriculum and 2012 POST Guidelines on Crowd Management,
Intervention, and Control:
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o First Amendment
o Legal updates (unlawful assembly, curfew, etc.)
o Professional, ethical, and moral responsibilities
o Crowd psychology (including that crowds are not inherently
irrational or prone to violence and that aggressive or
unjustified police actions can antagonize and galvanize
otherwise peaceful crowds)
o De-escalation
o Community relations and advance planning
o Use of force proportionality, including emphasis on restraint
and accountability, de-escalation, and AB 392 necessity
requirement
o Distinguishing civil disobedience from violence or riots
o Other areas (see general recommendations below).
Instruct POST, in coordination with the Governor’s Office of Emergency
Services, to develop a train the trainer course for mutual aid coordinators.
Instruct POST to develop best practices and training guides for law
enforcement to identify, monitor, and strategically detain individuals
suspected of violence and/or destruction of property during protests and
demonstrations.
Form a working group to evaluate and update conditions of mutual aid,
including the standardization of command and control, use of force,
communications, and operational plans.
Legislative
Prohibit the use of dogs and water cannons for crowd control or to
disperse crowds.
Restrict the use of less-lethal projectiles and chemical agents to defensive
actions to protect life, repel serious assaults, and, when other means have
been exhausted or are not feasible, to disrupt the significant destruction
of property.
Require all California law enforcement officers to receive regular training
regarding the First Amendment and responding to demonstrations and
protests.
Clarify the definition of unlawful assembly and the process by which it can
be declared (which is a necessary condition for crowd dispersal).
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Require officers to intervene to prevent or stop other officers from
engaging in excessive force, false arrest, or other inappropriate conduct.
Require officers to report the misconduct of other officers.
General Recommendations
Sheriffs and other local mutual aid coordinators should convene
local stakeholders, including community members, law
enforcement, and local government representatives to update or
establish county operations and response plans (including tabletop
exercises) for demonstrations, protests, and other mass events.
Establish communication and coordination channels between
government actors in advance of known demonstrations or protests
so that decisions can be quickly made and/or communicated.
Establish early and open lines of communication with organizers as
a key strategy for planning, facilitating, and de-escalating issues if
needed.
o Establish relationships before crises to build trust.
o Train community ambassadors or other responders to assist
with communication, de-escalation/intervention, and other
functions.
Designate a point of contact for media inquiries.
Establish clear and visible leadership with prescribed protocols for
relaying of commands; especially important with mutual aid.
Provide clear communication to public in advance of known
protests and demonstrations re: commitment to protecting rights
and intolerance for violence.
Line up resources before they are needed and, when possible,
stage away from demonstrators.
Establish and reinforce with all participating officers, including
mutual aid officers, clear goals (e.g., protecting 1st A rights,
protecting critical infrastructure), and plans for how to accomplish.
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Establish and reinforce common standards, training, and rules for
mutual aid including regarding enforcement priorities, use of force
standards, warnings, and equipment.
Recognize that police presence can have an escalating effect and
be prepared to dial up or dial down visibility (e.g., do not start with
visible armored vehicles and riot gear).
If equipped, require all officers in direct contact with demonstrators
to wear and activate their body cameras during protests and
demonstrations.
Use dispersal orders strategically (as they may have an escalating
effect); when given, ensure dispersal orders are clear, loud, in
multiple languages where appropriate, and that individuals are
given sufficient time to disperse with clear, visible, and ample
means of egress.
Ensure protection for journalists and legal observers exercising their
right to record and observe police activities during protests and
demonstrations.
o Provide officers training on the role and rights of journalists
and how to facilitate their ability to report on protests and
demonstrations.
o Establish a media center and/or point of contact for
journalists who are covering the event.
Importance of quick, targeted intervention to stop violence and/or
incitement; need to isolate antagonizers and not disrupt peaceful
demonstrators (“identify, target, isolate, remove”).
o Identify and address the role of hate groups, including white
supremacists, in disrupting protests and committing and
instigating violence and looting.
o Partner with protest organizers, legal observers, demonstration
marshals, and public safety liaisons to help identify and
address potential problems before they escalate.
o Prohibit the undercover infiltration of constitutionally
protected demonstrations and protests unless there is a
criminal predicate to support such activity.
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Limit amount of time officers can be on the line and establish ability
to tap out or be pulled out based upon risk factors observed by the
officer, other officers, or a supervisor. Risk factors should include
signs such as fatigue, unmanageable stress, or other factors which
may impact an officer’s ability to safely and appropriately perform
their assignment.
Conduct daily briefings with mutual aid agencies to reinforce
policies, priorities, and command structure.
Conduct after-action reviews to identify what went well and what
can be improved.
Involve prosecutors’ offices in front-end discussions regarding the
possibility of curfews or other enforcement strategies and priorities
and to provide training on relevant laws (e.g., distinguishing
burglary from looting charges).
Include prosecutors and/or other legal advisors on-site at
emergency operations centers to provide legal advice and
guidance.
Oversight and accountability: tailor oversight to local jurisdiction;
consider role to include monitoring event, accepting and
investigating complaints (including mutual aid), compliance with
policies, procedures, and training.
o Local mutual aid coordinators and/or lead law enforcement
agencies should coordinate centralized civilian complaint
processes to ensure all complaints associated with
demonstrations and protests are received and investigated.
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Review of Research on Policing Demonstrations
Prepared by Jack Glaser & May Lim
Goldman School of Public Policy
University of California, Berkeley
July 28, 2020
I. Executive Summary
This report on research on policing demonstrations reflects a review of scholarly
books and chapters, scientific journal articles, NGO guidance documents, and other
“grey literature” to identify major themes and promising practices to reduce
conflict and violence.
Summaries of guidance documents from California’s Peace Officer Standards and
Training (POST), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and others
reveal that such guidances, while clear and comprehensive, tend to emphasize
operational considerations but fail to reflect current understandings of “crowd
psychology” and unnecessarily discourage communication between police and
demonstrators.
The main findings from systematic research on demonstrations and policing start
with an acknowledgment that policing practices for crowd control vary over time
and place (and agency). Since the 1960’s the dominant (but not universal)
paradigm in the U.S. has shifted from “escalated force” to “negotiated
management.”
There is considerable consensus among researchers on five essential points:
• Contrary to theories of crowd behavior originating in the 18th Century,
crowds of people are not inherently irrational, de-individuated, or prone to
emotional contagion.
• The overwhelming majority of protests remain peaceful.
• Violent elements among protest groups tend to be small and not even
inevitably violent.
• Violence tends to result from interactions in the dynamics between police
and protesters.
• Unnecessary injuries and even deaths occur and violence escalates when
tactical weapons are used inappropriately.
The research supports a focus in policing reform on key issues:
• Communication: Police do well to communicate clearly with assembled
civilians, ideally before demonstrations have started, but also during, in the
service of maintaining civility. Law enforcement agencies should work to
establish and keep open lines of communication with partnering agencies in
mutual aid relationships, to promote consistent practices.
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• Respecting spatial boundaries: Violence is more likely to erupt if protestors
or police violate each others’ territories. Making expectations about
territories (e.g., protest zones) explicit, so long as they are respected, can
reduce upheaval.
• Avoiding unnecessary enforcement: As with territorial incursions,
enforcement of low level offenses or unnecessary requirements of
movement can spark mass conflict.
• Minimizing militarization: Militaristic presence (e.g., with armored vehicles,
combat-style helmets) can be threatening to peaceful protestors and incite
conflict.
• Minimize use of weapons: Deploying weapons (e.g., batons, kinetic impact
projectiles, chemical irritants) can, in addition to causing injuries and even
death, rapidly escalate conflict, and they should be used as a last resort,
defensively or to disperse a crowd that has been declared unlawfully
assembled.
Additional smart practices implied by research and supported by discussions with
stakeholders and experts include ensuring demonstrators have a clear and visible
means of egress, targeting only destructive individuals for arrest, and pursuing
unambiguous coordination among multiple responding agencies.
Three significant thematic challenges emerged: 1) How to balance officer safety
gained by armor, weapons, and offensive configurations against the escalation they
tend to engender; 2) How to target destructive individuals without being viewed as
violating territory and triggering broader disruption; and 3) What are the most
promising methods for de-escalation given that research to date has not shown
benefits?
II. Introduction
The purpose of this report is to transmit a review of available research and
analysis on policing demonstrations conducted with an eye to understanding what
are the most effective government practices, particularly policing, to support First
Amendment rights while minimizing harms, particularly violence and property
damage. The review surveys a variety of research types, seeking empirically
grounded psychological and sociological insights into crowd behavior and how it
responds to various crowd control approaches. Promising and problematic
practices will be identified and discussed.
The types of research sources reviewed included scientific journal articles,
books, book chapters in edited volumes, government reports, training documents,
and other “grey” literature, such as advocacy group recommendations. Much of the
research involves qualitative review through case studies of actual protests (often
single cases, but in some studies many), but some of the research involves rigorous
quantitative analysis of protester surveys or archival data.
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As den Heyer (2020) notes, perhaps too dismissively, in his very recent,
extensive book on Police Response to Riots,
Extensive literature that examines the approach taken by the police to
crowd management during protests and that identifies various options
for the police to consider if they wish to improve their management of
such events is available. However, no research has been conducted that
would inform the police as to how they could improve their response to
a riot, nor has any literature identified methods for managing protests
that contain violent individuals or groups (den Heyer, 2020, p. 50).
In fact, although there is no known research that has conducted randomized
controlled trials to test policing strategies on crowd management outcomes, there
are research-based inferences that can be made about what is likely to work and
not work well. We will highlight Nassauer’s work in particular, which represents a
very rigorous comparative analysis of 30 protest events, including those with
violent and peaceful results.
It is worth noting as well that many, if not most, public protests do not elicit
a police presence (Earl, Soule, & McCarthy, 2003), although, not surprisingly, Earle
et al. find that the larger the event, and the more radical the goals, the more likely
there will be a police presence.
III. Recent guidances and current practices
Before considering social scientific research, we review some of the
substantial materials developed by large law enforcement organizations to provide
policy and practice guidelines for individual agencies. We will review here some of
the most influential and recent. All have a highly operational flavor, appropriately
providing guidance to agencies on the mechanics of crowd management. There is
some reference to prioritizing free expression, coordination with organizers,
limiting use of force, and de-escalation. But there is little evidence of research
influence.
California’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) (2012).
POST’s Crowd Management, Intervention, and Control document states clearly that
it represents guidelines, rather than policy or standards. It provides a
comprehensive description of various dimensions of considerations that have to be
made in preparation (long and short term) for policing demonstrations.
POST’s description of law enforcement’s role, to distinguish between lawful
and unlawful behavior in demonstrations (p. 3) is perhaps too simplistic, with
many agencies strategically overlooking some unlawful behavior such as roadway
blocking. But the report goes on to more subtly distinguish among “lawful, isolated
unlawful, unlawful, and riotous” crowd behaviors. Furthermore, the guidelines
later offer some flexibility in responding to criminal acts: “Crowds and criminal acts
committed by participants within the crowd require a flexible response. Strategies
include containment, control, communication, tactical information, coordination
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and response” (p. 31) and acknowledge that crowds are heterogeneously
composed.
In line with common best practice, POST encourages coordination with
event leaders, to the extent possible. The language on dispersal is very clear and
prescriptive, but could be interpreted as providing legal guidance more than
strategic guidance:
The decision to declare a crowd unlawful must be based upon
reasonable and articulable facts. The definition of an unlawful
assembly has been set forth in Penal Code section 407 and interpreted
in court decisions. The terms ‘boisterous’ and ‘tumultuous’ as written
in Penal Code section 407 have been interpreted as conduct that poses
a clear and present danger of imminent violence [In re Brown (1973) 9
Cal. 3d 612, 623.].” (POST, 2012, p. 33).
More in the way of strategic guidance, POST makes a clear statement of the
importance of making dispersal announcements heard, and recording, for
accountability purposes, when all the announcements were made and who made
them. However, the dispersal order template provided in the POST document is
very direct, bordering on officious. A more cordial approach could reduce the
likelihood of physical resistance.
POST’s use of force guidance is generic, and permissive:
Peace officers need not use the least intrusive force option, but only
that force which is objectively reasonable under the totality of the
circumstances; Scott v. Henrich, 39 F. 3d 912 (9th Cir. 1994), and
Forrester v. City of San Diego, 25 F. 3d 804 (9th Cir. 1994). When
feasible, prior to the use of a particular force option, officers should
consider the availability of less-intrusive measures; Young, 655 F.3d at
1166; Bryan v. McPherson, 630 F. 3d 805, 831 (9th Cir. 2010)” (p. 39).
Regarding chemical agents, the guidance is loose: “Each agency should
consider when, where, and how nonlethal chemical agents may be
deployed, and consider potential collateral effects (POST 2012, p. 41).
Overall, the POST guidelines cover a lot of topics and consider many
variables, but tend to be descriptive and emphasize common legal standards as
opposed to evidence-based approaches for promoting optimal outcomes.
A more recent set of guidances is offered through a training manual
published by Ohio Peace Officer Basic Training (July 2019). Encouragingly, there
is repeated emphasis on “legal, moral, professional and ethical responsibilities.”
(e.g., p. 7). On the other hand, based on the stated student objectives, the course
seems very command and control oriented:
“At the end of this topic, the student will be able to:
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1. Explain the balance between First Amendment rights and the need to
protect public safety and property.
2. Describe mob behavior.
3. Describe the basic concepts of perimeter crowd control.
4. State the common uses for a mobile field force.
5. Demonstrate a column formation.
6. Demonstrate a line formation.
7. Demonstrate a wedge formation.
8. Identify the color codes and each associated chemical agent that may be
used by law enforcement agencies.
9. State the steps for administering first aid to an individual who has been
exposed to the chemical agents OC or CS.” (p. 9)
Like the POST guidelines, the emphasis in the Ohio training
recommendations is on distinguishing between lawful and unlawful conduct.
There is a significant section on de-escalation, including building rapport with
protestors, and an acknowledgment that most demonstrators are resistant to
committing acts of violence. “It is very difficult for those not bent on unlawful
behavior to fight with the police when officers have been professional and
respectful to those encountered” (p. 13)
An admonition to “not engage demonstrators in any conversation without
supervisory direction except the giving of verbal commands” (p. 14) offered in the
section on de-escalation, not in the context of violence already occurring, seems at
odds with emerging best practices, and likely to promote tension. A similar
admonition in the IACP Model Policy from April 2019 (discussed below) provides a
stronger signal that such a prohibition applies to conversations about topics related
to the demonstration, perhaps to prevent arguments from erupting between
demonstrators, counter-demonstrators, and police. Nevertheless, such approaches
could cast a chill on officer-demonstrator relations.
The Ohio document seems to reflect an old-fashioned crowd psychology,
indicating “anonymity,” “universality,” and “irrationality” of crowds. This will be
discussed later – contemporary social scientific evidence supports a very different
characterization.
The Ohio document recognizes the problems associated with a large policing
presence, recommending that additional officers be “posted nearby but out of
sight.” (p. 18). However, they recommend plain clothes officers in the crowd:
“When safe to do so, use plain clothes officers to monitor the crowd from within the
group to identify potential instigators” (p. 25). However, there is a danger that such
postings, if discovered, can serve to violate protestors’ territory and sense of
control and consequently incite violence.
One section indicates a clear preference for diplomacy over force:
“Crowd control of an unlawful disturbance or riot
a. Dispersal, not mass arrest, is key when trying to stop a riotous crowd
b. Diplomacy is preferred over a show of force, if possible
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c. It is important for officers not to overreact, but they must be prepared to
act quickly in order to disperse the crowd as soon as possible
d. When forming a dispersal squad, do so out of sight of the crowd, yet
close enough to respond quickly if needed
e. When attempting to break up a crowd, continue to spread them out so
they do not regroup somewhere else” (p. 25).
It may be worth noting that the Ohio document lists only the advantages
(not disadvantages) of using chemical agents (p. 50). Given the clear and broadly
recognized risk associated with using these tactical weapons, this may raise
concern. Furthermore, the instructions for chemical agent deployment are not
clear that canisters should not be aimed at people (pp. 57-58).
In a set of three related documents on “Crowd Management” the
International Association of Chiefs of Police (April 2019) provides a “model
policy” on crowd management. The IACP recommends that officers monitoring
crowds should have identification clearly visible at all times, and that Fire and EMS
should be present before dispersal orders are made. Like the earlier POST and
more recent Ohio guidances, they distinguish only between “civil disturbance”
(unlawful) and “demonstration” (lawful), losing some important strategically and
operationally relevant nuance – that civilly disobedient demonstrators can be
peaceful. In fact, in the Model Policy Document, IACP conflates “civil disobedience”
with “riot,” again losing important nuance that could allow departments to handle
civilly disobedient demonstrations, like road blockages, diplomatically.
The IACP documents note that self-policing among protesters happens, in
some instances even with handouts prepared in advance to guide protesters on
conduct. But they also note that “out-of-town” elements sometimes participate, the
implication being that outsiders are less likely to be of like mind with locals
preparing for peaceful protest.
The IACP documents offer mostly operational guidance, with little reference
to de-escalation, except, “When lines of communication have been maintained
between event organizers or leaders and a law enforcement liaison, it is sometimes
possible to negotiate a resolution to the situation. Given such situations, many
crowds tend to become self-enforcing to ensure that they can continue to assemble
and convey their message” (p. 6 of Concepts Paper).
IACP offers some specific use of force limitations: no canines; no horses used
against passive protestors; no firehoses; CS gas generally shouldn’t be used; riot
baton as defensive or prod only. Bicycles are recommended as a less threatening
mode of transportation. IACP recommends that dispersal warnings be recorded
whenever possible.
The Model Policy document makes a clear effort to walk the line between
coordination and engagement:
• “Officers shall be positioned in such a manner as to minimize contact
with the assembled crowds.” (p. 2)
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• “Individuals designated by the IC should establish and maintain
communication with event organizers and relay information on crowd
mood to the IC.” (p. 3)
• “Mass arrests shall be avoided, unless necessary.”
• “Unless exigent circumstances justify immediate action, officers shall not
independently make arrests or employ force without command
authorization.” (p.3)
USDOJ COPS Office Ferguson After-Action Report. A different, but
nevertheless instructive, type of government report on policing protests comes in
the form of a thorough after-action investigation carried out and reported
(Institute for Intergovernmental Research, 2015) by the US DOJ’s Community
Oriented Policing Services office on the protests that occurred in Ferguson,
Missouri after the fatal officer-involved shooting of an unarmed, Black teenager,
Michael Brown. Clear implications of that investigation included the following:
1. Police-community relationships: “Ferguson PD had virtually no established
community relationships with the residents” of the complex where Michael
Brown was killed.
2. Command and control: “The incident command structures throughout the
evolution of the Ferguson demonstrations were uncoordinated and
incomplete in the early days.” “Use of intelligence products was
minimal.” “Law enforcement agencies initially offered limited public
information and did not commit to proactive communications with the
public.” Lack of coordination led to inconsistent and untracked deployment
of less-lethal weapons.
3. Use of force: Inappropriate canine use. Instances of inappropriate
deployment of tear gas. Military weapons and sniper deployment “was
inappropriate, inflamed tensions, and created fear among
demonstrators.” Elevated daytime response was not justified, and served to
escalate.
4. Militarization: “Overwatch tactic” (snipers use rifle sites to monitor crowd)
was inappropriate and fear-evoking. Visible staging of armored vehicles was
threatening.
5. Need for preparation: It is too late to prepare once protest and violence has
erupted. Officers need full preparation, including understanding of
demonstrators’ rights, civil disobedience, and unlawful assembly.
6. Social media: Police were unprepared for the impact and rapid
dissemination of information.
7. Protection of constitutional rights: “Keep moving” orders (and the inherent
threat of arrest or force) risk violating First Amendment protections of free
speech and assembly. Unified command in Ferguson “failed to establish a
clearly marked First Amendment free speech zone.”
8. Accountability and transparency: Some officers removed their nameplates. A
lack of confidence in the complaint process may have caused a deceptively
low rate of complaints.
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9. Officer resilience: Officer shifts were long and often entailed verbal and
physical abuse from protestors, particularly toward minority
officers. “Transition from traditional nameplates to identity numbers on
badges would preserve accountability and offer the individual officer some
protection.”
10. The role and impact of protestors intent on exploiting the demonstrations:
There were some, including self-described anarchists, who joined intent on
causing problems. Community members noted big differences in the nature
of activities during daytime (more peaceful) versus nighttime hours.
The documents from POST, Ohio, the IACP, and USDOJ indicate an
acknowledgment of many of the challenges of policing protests, nods to the notion
that crowds are heterogeneous and not inherently prone to violence, and tend to
provide clear operational guidance (or, in the case of Ferguson, cautionary tales).
However, they generally fall short with respect to reflecting systematic research on
crowd behavior in general and policing protests in particular.
IV. Main Findings from Research
There is considerable consensus in the research literature around several
key issues relating to demonstrations. First, the overwhelming majority of protests
remain peaceful. Second, violent elements among protest groups tend to be small
and not even inevitably violent or destructive. Third, violence tends to result from
interactions in the dynamics between police and protesters. Finally, unnecessary
injuries and deaths occur and violence escalates when tactical weapons are used
inappropriately. We will return to these findings after a general consideration of
the relevant research.
Protest policing strategies vary over time and place (Brown, 2015; Den
Heyer, 2020; Logan, 2019; McPhail, Schweingruber, & McCarthy, 1998; Vitale,
2005, 2007). Historically, in the U.S. modern policing of protests was characterized
by a doctrine of “escalated force” in the 1960s and 1970s, in which police tended to
be punitive and focused on crowd control. This was followed by a general trend
toward “negotiated management” in which public safety officials coordinate with
protest organizers in advance, to the extent possible, and establish clear
expectations. This approach has persisted in many places, even as there was
emergence of a “strategic incapacitation” trend following the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks (Gillham, 2011; Gillham, Edwards, & Noakes, 2013). The focus in
strategic incapacitation is on isolating and/or neutralizing disruptive individuals or
groups, and reflected, “tactical innovations introduced by transgressive protesters
during the Seattle cycle of protests [and] contributed to the end of a long, relatively
stable period of détente between police and protesters in the United States”
(Gillham & Noakes, 2007, p. 341). Strategic incapacitation accelerated in response
to the Occupy Wall Street protests that Gillham and colleagues describe as
“transgressive,” where protesters refused pre-negotiation with police.
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Protest policing appears to have generally returned to a negotiated
management model, aggressive police tactics in recent Black Lives Matter protests
notwithstanding.
“The myth of the mob.”
Perhaps the most influential social scientific influence on protest policing
has been notion of the “deindividuated crowd” or “mob.” However, research in
recent decades has emphatically rejected this notion that crowds are inherently
irrational and emotionally contagious (Borch, 2013; den Heyer, 2020; McPhail,
1991; Reicher, 2011; Schweingruber, 2000). Illustrating a troubling implication of
this misconception, Hoggett and Stott (2010; see also Reicher, Stott, Drury, Adang,
Cronin, & Livingstone, 2007) show that police officers’ perceptions of crowds as
inherently irrational have a self-fulfilling effect on crowd violence.
The reality is less bleak. Research indicates that 92% to 98% of protests
stay peaceful (Nassauer, 2019, citing others, p. 6). Stott (2011) argues that crowd
control would benefit from police being educated about the cultural norms of
crowds, specifically, dispelling the myth that crowds are inherently irrational. On
the other hand, there is some evidence (Cocking, 2013) that aggressive or
indiscriminate dispersal actions can galvanize a crowd and be counterproductive.
In a more rigorous study, Snipes, Maquire, and D. Tyler (2019) found that
protesters indicated greater willingness to engage in civil disobedience, even
vandalism, when they perceived police actions as procedurally unjust. In sum,
crowds are not inherently irrational and unruly, but aggressive and unjust police
actions can antagonize and galvanize them.
Current research in crowd behavior points to the idea that police presence
at a protest also constitutes a “crowd,” meaning that crowd behavior theory can
provide insights for police behavior as well. There is also evidence that points to
individuals having an inhibition threshold, after which they can cross over into a
stage of panic and loss of control, leading to violent behaviors (Nassauer, 2015).
Police officers engaging in such behavior often act out as an individual, forgetting
that they are part of a larger unit.
Having moved past the outdated theory of the deindividuated mob,
researchers who study policing of demonstrations exhibit considerable consensus
with regard to a number of important factors, including communication with
protesters, respecting territorial boundaries, avoiding unnecessary enforcement,
and minimizing militarization.
Communication.
There is general consensus, even where pitfalls are pointed out (e.g., Baker,
2014), that pre-demonstration negotiations between public safety officials and
demonstration organizers generally promote more peaceful outcomes. Nassauer
(2019), discussed further below, identifies communication as a critical element of
successful, peaceful crowd management. Holgersson and Knutsson (2011), after
analyzing the failures of policing of the riots in Gothenberg, Sweden, in 2001, relay
Swedish national “basic tactics” advising that officers policing riots be prepared for
stress and have a communicative mindset. The Swedish national principles for
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policing protests are: Facilitation (of demonstrations); Dialogue; Counterpart
perspective (perspective-taking to avoid escalation); Differentiation (police actions
should not be the same for all protestors); Signal value (display readiness to use
force); State (moods of crowds -- green, yellow, red). Davies and Dawson (2018),
however, drawing on a review of the 2011 Stanley Cup Riot in Vancouver, caution
that the “meet and greet” strategies that are so promising in policing relatively low-
risk crowds may not work for higher risk situations.
Although no research was found on the importance of communication within
police organizations, discussions with police practitioners have revealed emphatic
support for clear, bounded, and well structured communication within and
between responding agencies. This has clear implications for the importance of
developing procedures for real-time communication down the chain of command
as well as cooperative and consistent mutual aid collaboration between agencies.
Recognize and respect territorial boundaries.
Nassauer (2019; see also 2015 & 2018), through in-depth, multimedia and
multi-method analysis of 30 protests that occurred in Germany and the U.S.
between 1960 and 2010, identified important dimensions of crowd and police
behavior in protests. Nassauer studied events that turned violent as well as those
that remained peaceful, noting that much research on protests has “selected on the
dependent variable” of violence, thereby limiting inferences about things that cause
– and obviate – violence.
Surprising outcomes occur because of situational breakdowns --
moments of emotionally charged chaos and poor communication. In
these situations, people are confused and overwhelmed because the
interactional and organizational routines they usually rely on have
collapsed… However, such instances do not unfold randomly but due
to specific patterns and are therefore not beyond our control.
(Nassauer, 2019, p. 7).
Nassauer has observed that the occurrence of violence can be explained by
interactions among five primary situational factors: spatial incursions; police
mismanagement; escalation signs; property damage; and communication problems.
Nassauer identifies three pathways along which these factors intersect to cause
violence, but notable is the fact that “spatial incursions” is common to all three,
suggesting that it is a necessary but not sufficient condition for violence to erupt.
Accordingly, one especially clear implication of Nassauer’s careful work is that
spatial incursions, in either direction, should be avoided.
Nassauer (2019), in making recommendations, also highlights the
importance of good communication by police and protesters, to help reassure each
other of good intentions. She also highlights the need for good police management,
meaning clear oversight and coherent plans of action.
In an interview (July 17, 2020) with Chief Davis and Professor Glaser,
Nassauer explained that communication from police should be clear and positive,
conveying that police are there to facilitate a successful demonstration. Nassauer
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also noted that the presence of plain-clothes or undercover officers among
protesters, if discovered, would likely be seen as a territorial incursion, thereby
increasing the likelihood of disorder and violence. In contrast, lightly armed or
unarmed personnel wearing colored vests clearly marked with “Communication
Team” can be seen as nonthreatening ambassadors who can be helpful while
reducing tensions.
Avoid unnecessary enforcement.
Legal scholar El-Haj (2015) writes, “If we want to preserve the unique
functions of outdoor assembly as a form of politics...we need to reconcile ourselves
to the fact that we must increase our tolerance of the disorder and disruption
associated with it” (pp. 984-985).
Implementing a more robust right of assembly does not entail as radical
a transformation as one might imagine. To be certain, the public would
be asked to tolerate a lot more than it currently does. On the other hand,
many cities, as a matter of discretion, already allow more spontaneous
and disruptive crowds than they are strictly required to by
contemporary constitutional doctrine. Essentially, the transformation
would require enshrining these practices in law (El-Haj, 2015, p. 985).
Aggressive pursuit of rule compliance can be counterproductive. Writing
about the WTO riots in Seattle, Gillham and Marx (2000) note that, “After the
curfew was declared… police chased groups of people through the streets with tear
gas and pepper spray. As news of police behavior spread, many demonstrators felt
an increased sense of solidarity and a need to stand up to police efforts at control,
beyond the original goal of protesting against the WTO” (pp. 223-224). Adding to
the challenge is the likelihood that aggressive rule enforcement can affect even
those who are not the direct targets of enforcement. As Waddington (1987) put it,
“The disorganised approach to public order policing leads not only to
ineffectiveness and excessive force, but can also result in injustice being done to
individuals in the crowd. The tendency to make arbitrary and essentially random
arrests arises from the confusion that almost invariably accompanies scenes of
disorder” (p. 41).
Minimize militarization.
Militarization, in terms of equipment (e.g., armored vehicles, combat-style
helmets), clothing (e.g., camouflage, armor), weapons (e.g., grenade launchers), and
tactics (e.g., officer formations) is a topic of concern regarding policing in general,
exacerbated by the direct transfer of equipment from the military to state and local
police departments. Given the psychological tensions associated with crowd
control, a militarized presence, consistent with the earlier era of the “escalated
force” approach to crowd control, is likely to increase anxiety and tensions,
perhaps setting the stage for volatility. The need for safety, perhaps promoted by
armoring, is an understandable one, but may promote a “warrior mindset”
(Stoughton, 2014-15). In fact, Stott, Adang, Livingstone, and Schreiber (2008),
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studying policing of European football hooliganism, found that non-paramilitary
style policing was associated with less disorder. In a study reflecting on both
minimizing militarization and the value of positive communication, Masterson
(2011) highlights the success of Vancouver police who “developed a meet-and-
greet strategy. Instead of using riot police in menacing outfits, police officers in
standard uniforms engaged the crowd. They shook hands, asked people how they
were doing, and told them that officers were there to keep them safe. This created a
psychological bond with the group that paid dividends. It becomes more difficult
for people to fight the police after being friendly with individual officers.”1
Even the presence of police in riot gear could cause the crowd to engage in
behaviors they would not have otherwise. It has been found that when police begin
using traditional crowd control tactics (e.g. tear gas, rubber bullets, kettling),
protestors in the crowd find increased solidarity and connection with one another
and a sense of defiance in the face of perceived injustice, and they begin to shift
their focus of protest to what they feel are unjust behaviors by the police, rather
than the cause for which they first gathered (Gillham & Marx, 2000). Certain
preemptive actions by the police, such as wearing riot gear to a protest or putting
on gas masks, can signal a lack of trust to the protestors (Nassauer, 2015;
Waddington, 1987). Other factors that can lead to possible escalation of violence
include police behaviors that lead to their loss of legitimacy (Masterson, 2011;
Stott, Hoggett, & Pearson, 2012). This is related to Procedural Justice Theory (PSJ),
which theorizes that individuals will be less likely to comply with the law if they
feel that officers are acting without justice and legitimacy.
Minimize Weapon Use.
As the US DOJ’s COPS Office after-action report (2015) on the Ferguson,
Missouri 2014 protests noted,
The use of force via less-lethal weapons should be a last resort to
maintain order and should be used only in a manner consistent with
law and agency policy, after alternatives have been reasonably
exhausted, after multiple warnings have been given to demonstrators,
and in situations when the threat to the safety of persons and
protection of property are in imminent jeopardy. When the decision is
made to use these weapons, the police should be tactically placed to
ensure that demonstrators have clear avenues of escape from the
demonstration area. The goal of these technologies is to disperse
protesters, not capture them. In addition, the use of force must be
documented (pg. 46-47).
Dr. Rohini Haar, an emergency physician and adjunct professor at UC
Berkeley’s School of Public Health, conducts research on crowd control weapons.
She and her colleagues have found chemical irritant weapons to cause serious
injury despite the general belief that they are safe:
1 “Meet-and-greet” strategies, as noted earlier in this report, may not work in high risk situations.
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The prevailing presumption about these chemical agents is that they
cause minimal and transient irritation to the skin and eyes, but are
generally safe for use on diverse populations. However, we found that,
by design or by inappropriate use, chemical irritants can cause
significant injuries as well as permanent disabilities. While deaths were
rare, we identified one death directly caused by the blunt trauma from
the projectile and another from high dose exposure to the chemical
agent in a closed environment (Haar, Iacopino, Ranadive, Weiser, &
Dandu, 2017, p. 10; see similar findings by Hu et al., 1989).
Haar and colleagues point out that, in addition to being potentially injurious to
their intended targets, “Chemical irritants, especially those deployed in aerosolized
forms, are inherently indiscriminate and can affect not only the intended targets but
also peaceful demonstrators, bystanders, nearby communities and residences, and
law enforcement officers themselves” (p. 11). They recommend that, “CCWs should
only be used in situations where particular individuals pose an imminent violent
threat, or where a protest requires dispersal because of widespread violent acts that
pose an imminent threat to public safety. In most situations where we found these
weapons being used, neither of these conditions was documented” (p. 11).
The same researchers found a much larger number of serious injuries as
well as fatalities resulting from the use of kinetic impact projectile (KIP) weapons
such as rubber bullets and wooden projectiles (Haar, Iacopino, Ranadive, Dandu, &
Weiser, 2017).
Additional promising practices implied by research and expressed by practitioners.
Strongly implied by research and explicitly expressed by practitioners is the
need to use weapons as a last resort. Aside from the direct implications of injuries
and risk of mortality created by weapon use, the anxiety and indignation their use
can evoke in the crowd may effect more harm than good. Similarly, it is clear in
writing and discussions that police managing protests must ensure that the crowd
has clear and accessible egress options. The older technique of “kettling” to section
off and control crowds can lead to mass anxiety and violence. Identifying and
singling out violent or destructive individuals for arrest is preferable to taking action
against a collective (i.e., “mass arrest”) that is largely peaceful, if not law-abiding.
The inherent challenge in this case is to effect these arrests without the larger
group being set off by a territorial incursion (see Nassauer, 2019). Finally, it is
imperative that when multiple agencies are responding (i.e., “mutual aid”) there is
unambiguous coordination among them (den Heyer, 2020). This poses interagency
challenges as different departments have different use of force policies and
cultures.
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V. Significant themes and challenges
The review of the research literature and interviews of experts and
stakeholders has revealed some overarching themes that are worth considering in
order to foster a better understanding of the challenges of policing demonstrations.
The officer safety vs. escalation tradeoff.
As Stoughton describes, there is an understandable urge to employ tools and
tactics that ensure the safety of police officers. However, some of these tools and
tactics, while promoting immediate and proximal safety (e.g., hardening against
weapons) may have externalities that undermine safety in the broader sense. Most
prominently, the armoring of officers with paramilitary equipment will reduce the
harm of a hurled object, but it may also, by signaling aggression, increase the
likelihood of the object being hurled. As Nassauer and others write, a single
escalatory act can cause a cascade of violence, so the immediate gain from
armoring may pose a large net loss in public safety and even officer safety. At one
far end of this continuum are police who are so armored as to be invulnerable, but
violence that is nearly inevitable, or a sense that free speech is utterly constrained.
At the other end is the protest that is not policed at all (as, in fact, is the case for
many), with a reduced likelihood of reactive violence, but no official response to
property damage and interpersonal violence. This is a tradeoff that must be
continually confronted.
Targeting destructive individuals without triggering broader reaction.
It is essentially accepted that police do well to isolate individuals who are
destructive and/or violent rather than incapacitating the collective. In fact, often
this is exactly what most demonstrators want them to do, because the violent
instigators are working at cross-purposes with the movement’s goals.
Nevertheless, there is a real risk that isolating and arresting such individuals will
be perceived as an incursion into the demonstrators’ territory, something Nassauer
has identified as a critical condition for instigating crowd violence. Policing
professionals will do well to develop tactics for executing such arrests while
signaling to the crowd the clear limits of their intentions and actions.
De-escalation.
An intuitively appealing concept in policing in general, de-escalation takes
many forms. Regrettably, the evidence base for effective de-escalation tactics is
lacking. A very recent empirical review (Engel, McManus, & Herold, 2020) of 64 de-
escalation training programs found no evidence of improvements in outcomes.
However, another finding of great importance was that the researchers were not
able to identify any robust evaluations of de-escalation training in all of criminal
justice. While there is reason for concern that the lack of evidence indicates that de-
escalation programs as currently constituted may not reduce conflict and/or
improve outcomes, there is also still ample reason for optimism that, in policing in
particular, de-escalation tactics can reduce negative outcomes. Furthermore, in the
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specific domain of crowd management, with the potential for heated emotions, de-
escalation seems a worthy objective, at the very least warranting further study.
VI. Conclusion
Many factors will need to be considered in making recommendations for
reform of crowd control and use of force policies and practices. The research
reviewed here clearly indicates that police should minimize militarization and use
weapons only as a last resort. Communication and coordination with protest
organizers appears to be effective, and the peace can be kept by care to avoid
unnecessary territorial incursions. There are many technical and operational
considerations and puzzles, but it is clear that policing protests is a fundamentally
human, social endeavor that requires attention to feelings and motivations as well
as respect for rights and privileges. It is worth considering the observation that the
police presence is also a crowd, and the civilian crowd may respond accordingly.
Communication and trust are paramount.
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