Police tactics and weapons
Facilitator:
Time: 45 mins; 1420-1505
Actual time:
Learning Objectives:
Materials: Readers.
Establishing and Restoring Safety
Facilitator asks
What is the purpose of police tactics?
Return to emphasis on fear and compliance.
Police weapons are not military (not intended to cause grievous wounds, disable, or kill).
Police use tactics to cause fear and compliance with the aim of dispersing or containing a protest. In long actions, police apply chronic, somewhat unpredictable, low-level harassment to wear protesters down; the theory is that worn out protesters will escalate (and be contained) or give up (and disperse).
As medics, we help movements resist police tactics so that they may make their own non-compliant choice to continue to demonstrate or voluntarily evacuate without fear.
Populations to seek safety and especially advocate for:
Gender non-conforming people.
People of color.
Marked or logistical activists (other medics, legal, media, etc.).
Masked protesters.
Very old and very young people.
People with chronic illness.
People who really hate the cops, and people who the cops really hate.
All street medic protocols should counteract the police culture of fear, e.g., calm, comfort, reassure; consent and empowerment.
Facilitator:1
You get word by text message that medics are requested for a spontaneous march from the horse at Grant Park to the First District Police Station at 17th and South State. The march is in response to some brutal arrests that got out of hand the day before. Protesters were thrown to the ground and sprayed with pepper spray from things that resemble super-soakers before being cuffed and loaded onto buses. Those protesters are still in custody waiting for arraignment. The videos have gone viral, and the march could be the hugest one yet.
You meet up with your medic buddy at her house, gear up, and head downtown on the El. While you and your buddy are on the train, the dispatch medic, who is watching twitter and live feed, texts you. She tells you that police buses,city buses, and paddy wagons are parked along Michigan Ave. and on Roosevelt; over a hundred bike cops in yellow rain coats are assembling at the south horse across Congress Drive from the the crowd (which is 3,000 people strong and growing rapidly); and there are SUV and sedan police cruisers everywhere. She texts again to say that the march is on the move and that an all-black police truck is following it west on Congress.
As you get off the train at Harrison and State, she tells you that the bike cops are lining the sidewalks and lots of police in light body armor with big hardwood batons and gas masks are moving rapidly in to direct traffic and escort the march.
Coming up the steps from the train, you see around 7,000 protesters turning south on State and completely blocking the street. The march is still growing, and it is rowdy. Police are marshaling the march into the street using vehicles and bikes, and a few scuffles break out, leading to arrests. Protesters are baiting the cops and many look like they're spoiling for a fight.
You and your buddy flank the march. When the march reaches the First District station, the police push it into the huge parking lots on the north side of 17th Street. Somebody sets up a tent. Without warning, the whole crowd is completely surrounded by tight ranks of police lines in light body armor with their gas masks on and their helmet visors down. Your buddy gets a text that three more teams of medics are trying to get into the crowd to help but can't get past the tight police lines. They want to know if your buddy and you know a way in.
Suddenly, a painfully loud amplified recorded voice drowns out the sound of the crowd: "This is an order to disperse. On the authority of the Chicago Police Department, I order you to disperse immediately. If you do not disperse immediately, you WILL be subject to arrest and prosecution." It is being played in a deafening endless recorded loop. Hundreds of people start panicking when they find they can't disperse. A fistfight breaks out between protesters twenty feet from you and your buddy and people are screaming at them to stop.
The order to disperse stops mid-sentence and the police line to the north is suddenly running south in formation, trapping people against the south police line on 17th Street and tightening the kettle. People trip over the tent and it collapses. There's not much room to move or even breathe.
Facilitator asks:
What are you going to see this evening?
Before we get into specific injuries, remember situational awareness/scene safety, triage, initial assessment, first aid, and advocacy:
Scene safety: conscious buddy decision to remain in or enter unsafe scene.
Physical injuries caused by police weapons aren't different than injuries by other causes. The additional elements that police weapons introduce to a situation are the tactical intent of police to cause fear and compliance.
You already know about assessment and first aid. In this section we will emphasize MOI and precautions.
Tools You May See In the Streets
Batons {#batons .unnumbered .unnumbered}
Batons are basic police weapons that can be wielded in different fashions.
Hardwood batons
Prime MOI
Blunt trauma from overhand clubbing to head and upper torso, etc.; body-checks to chest/ribs.
Common injuries from hardwood batons:
Defensive injuries to forearms and hands.
Head, collarbone injury.
Panic-induced injury.
Tonfa-based Batons (With Side Handles), e.g. NYC
Prime MOI
Blunt trauma from jabbing assaults to torso. No visible baton use in close quarters -- not going to see the "swingin' batons" above the crowd.
Common injuries from Tonfa-based batons:
Injuries to abdomen and groin area, esp. front line protesters.
"Uppercut" wounds to lower face from batons wielded from attacker's waist up toward patient's lower jaw, face, throat.
What you can do
Spread calm: "walk, walk," look for exits
Look for
People with chronic illness that might get exacerbated.
Prone or seated persons.
How to protect yourself and your buddy
Stay away from the front rank of protesters. (You should do this anyway, in order to be able to effectively assess overall situation).
Consider a bicycle helmet and a cup for your genitals.
Consider protecting your forearms with rolled-up magazines up your sleeves.
Do not attempt to shield another protester from a cop unless you are willing to risk legal charge.
Barricades, shields, kettles, and stampedes
Prime MOI
Crowd crush -- form of blunt trauma, but really asphyxiation (especially when backed against immovable walls).
Ranked domino effect -- crowd falling into crowd behind (previously uncommon in U.S., increasingly common in Occupy Wall Street and National Special Security Events, but in early '90s Roger saw it in Seattle).
Common injuries
Lower limb musculoskeletal from barricades or tripping while being pushed backwards.
Hand, finger, torso, and face injuries from tug-of-war over barricades.
Exacerbation of pre-existing conditions esp. asthma, cardiac conditions; can provoke panic attacks.
Deployment of barricades (or bikes used as barricades)
Ranked line of slow moving police will use barricades to physically contain or move protesters.
Ranked line of police will lunge with barricades to stampede, "flush," or dislodge protesters.
Look for
Prone or seated persons.
Crowd crush / ranked domino effect can be very dangerous for people with respiratory compromise or psych conditions.
One rank falling on ranks behind can cause crush asphyxiation, inability to move, very disorienting.
How to protect yourself and your buddy
Always look for openings; don't get caught in small spaces between lines of protesters. Never be caught between a rank of protesters and a building. Do not sit down on the ground or you will be crushed.
If you are caught in a tight place, make space. Link arms with your buddy and maintain this space against all crowd pressures as much as you can without resorting to shoving people. It's not pushing people to not yield to them if they are pushing on your linked arms --- that's just keeping your personal space and space to treat potential patients. If you encounter verbal hostile resistance, don't yield unless it seems violence might ensue. In that case, yield reluctantly. You'd be surprised how much the crowd respects you; this is also a way to spread calm.
Never counter verbal threats with the same. Verbal threats should be faced with slow, dignified retreat.
Police vehicles, motorcycles, and scooters
Prime MOI
Blunt trauma.
Impact blunt trauma.
Crowd crush.
Common injuries
Crush injuries to feet, lower limbs.
Musculoskeletal injuries.
Psychological.
How to protect yourself and your buddy
If you see vehicles staging to flank a crowd or approaching, look for exits. Don't get trapped between the crowd and the vehicles. Get out of the way and put rough ground/curbs between your feet and vehicles.
Projectile weapons
Prime MOI
Blunt trauma.
Common injuries
Contusions, lacerations, head injuries.
Types of Weapons:
These are not very likely in Chicago, but you might see them in Denver or Oakland.
Plastic or wooden dowels fired into crowd; sometimes large rounds, as from "Tommygun" magazine specialized weapon, but beanbag rounds more often fired from shotguns.
Shotguns firing less-lethal rounds should be flagged with orange or red markings on barrel, recoil mechanism, or stock, but in Oakland, CA, many were not.
How to protect yourself and your buddy
If police are deploying projectile weapons, consider leaving the area. People have been permanently injured by being hit by these weapons. If they are deployed, be aware that they will be aimed at your head and upper torso.
If you decide to remain:
You must wear some kind of head protection. Bicycle helmets are usually good enough, but not always.
A fishing vest with a water bladder (Camelbak) underneath provides some spinal protection.
Watch the lines of police. If they raise a gun-like weapon at you, they will fire it. You should get out of the area immediately.
If you decide to remain:
Immediately turn your back to the cop with the gun sighted on you, cover your cervical spine (the back of your neck) with one hand, and lean away from the cop.
After you hear the shot (you might feel it, too, if it hits your back), turn back to reassess, check in with your buddy, and check for patients.
Unplanned police tactics
Prime MOI/injuries
Anything goes: tasers, belt-clip pepperspray, batons, etc.
When a police officer is separated from the rank and has to fight his/her way back to it, bad, undisciplined things may happen. Physical confrontation may escalate quickly in this situation, and the scared individual police officer will use the weapons at his/her personal disposal
Lock-up
In Jail
There are lots of things we can do to make being detained a better experience for people.
Legal
We can help people get in touch with the National Lawyer's Guild. If arrested at the protest, call (312) 913-0039 so they can add you to their case load. Check on the paddy wagon or bus to see who has not called in and if they want to.
Handcuff Injury
We can help people prevent handcuff injury:
- In mass arrest situations police usually use plastic handcuffs (pass around example if we have one).
One piece handcuffs are the nastiest. They are inflexible, and the pressure they exert on wrists can cause permanent nerve damage.
Handcuffs that are two interlocking circles are less nasty. They allow for more movement and are less inflexible, causing less direct pressure.
- If anyone is put in plastic handcuffs and starts to feel any numbness, tingling or discomfort, ask the police to change the cuffs. Ask at least twice of each officer, as the first request is often ignored; if the first officer does not change them, ask another. Explain that you are concerned about permanent damage to your hands. An additional tactic, if you still have a phone, is to call 911 and report that the patient has been injured by a police officer and is in police custody, and she needs help because her cuffs are too tight (you're trying to get word to a ranking officer any way you can). Do as much as possible to not move around too much in the cuffs, as movement may cinch them tighter and make it worse.
Health Issues in Jail
We can advocate for and help people with health issues in jail:
For anyone who needs health care attention, medications, etc., medics can calm, comfort, reassure; can provide some care (though we usually don't have much equipment or materials); and can advocate for that person with authorities (if we have consent) to get them needed attention.
Pay attention to issues like food and water.
Keep the focus of the group on positive things, e.g. skill shares, song swaps, telling stories, etc.
Jail Support
Want to help lots of people who have been injured by police? Catch 'em when they come out of custody. Jail support is support for folks released from jail. It can be anywhere: makeshift first aid stations set up on park benches, in parking lots, fields, hallways inside courthouses, etc.
As people are released, match energy and adapt. Some may be fine, some not so fine. Can be very emotional. People who have been holding it together for the last few days in jail may suddenly let go. Help folks put their experience in the context of their everyday life.
Meet immediate needs, like cigarette, food, hug from a friend.
Offer to let them call a friend, family member, the NLG (312-913-0039), etc.; figure out where they're going to sleep that night and how they're gonna get there; remind them to not lose their paperwork and make sure to show up for court.
You can provide first aid and comfort to lots and lots of people while doing jail support. All kinds of injuries sustained during arrest or protest: infected wounds, respiratory infections, exacerbated chronic illness, sore shoulders from handcuffs, and handcuff injuries. There is info about documenting injuries caused by police in your handbook.
Prepare for your own needs. Sitting outside the jail at night in the winter can be super cold. You need to be ready for the weather like a postal carrier (neither rain, sleet, snow, or hail...).
Handcuff Injuries
Handcuff injuries are very common injuries. They are more prevalent when cops use plastic handcuffs that slide into place and lock than when cops use metal handcuffs.
Plastic cuffs can be applied tightly enough to cut off circulation in the hand and/or press on the superficial radial nerve and damage it. Swelling of tissues surrounding a nerve (from blood trapped in the hand) can also compress the nerve. The superficial radial nerve controls no muscles, so damage won't cause loss of function. Circulatory problems will end within several minutes of cuff removal; bruising will heal within days or weeks. Superficial nerve issues will also heal, but much slower, at about 1 inch per month (if you have a 2-inch area of altered sensation due to this injury, expect to feel pain for 2 months as the sheath protecting the nerve regenerates over the part that's been stripped bare).
Altered sensations over the back of the thumb and first 1 or 2 fingers -- such as numbness, tingling, or pain when the area is touched -- are the main symptoms of superficial radial nerve damage.
Assessment
Handcuff injury assessment is focused on discovering or ruling out anything that will not heal unassisted. You can help the patient decide whether basic first aid and herbal support will be sufficient, or whether they need to seek further diagnostic and clinical care.
Facilitator demonstrates
with volunteer:
Ask the person to squeeze your fingers. Does he experience weakness? Or: hold a piece of paper and ask him to take it from you. You are checking for muscle weakness in the hand, thumb, or forefinger. Different reactions from the two hands/wrists could indicate need for further care. If this is detected, medical splints and/or physical therapy may be recommended; the person should get it checked out further.
Apply light touch to the surfaces of the hand and fingers. You are checking for total numbness in any part of the hand. This may indicate that a nerve has been cut (will not regrow). Offer support and suggest further care.
Apply light touch to the pad of the thumb and the upper 2/3 of the forearm. You are checking for numbness of the pad of the thumb or the forearm. This could indicate damage to the neck, spine, or arm. You should inquire about how they were handled during their arrest and holding, and about possible injury prior to having handcuffs on -- you are looking for something that may have caused damage to the spine.
Check for body tenderness: ask what the person feels. Recommend further care if found.
Students practice
handcuff injury assessment with buddy.
First Aid
Educate patient about healing process.
Educate patient about options:
Hot/cold packs, splinting, bandaging, etc. will be of little to no use and may cause damage.
Dieh Dah (physical trauma) acupuncture by a trained Asian medicine provider many help a great deal.
Getting the injury documented ASAP (if legal action possible).
Use arnica and hypericum preparations. Send the person home with enough of a hypericum or hypericum/arnica preparation to apply 3 times a day until the nerve heals (calculate 1 inch per month).
Provide comfort and reassurance. It can be very scary and disabling to lose sensation in the hands. It can also be a constant reminder of any trauma suffered in the streets or the cell.
Other Non-Chemical Police Weapons
Cover briefly so there is plenty of time for eyeflush practice.
These are mainly applicable in other cities.
Horses
Prime MOI
Falls, blunt trauma, impact blunt trauma (rarely), crowd crush.
Common Injuries
Crush injuries to feet, lower limb, musculo-skeletal injuries, psychological.
How to protect yourself and your buddy
Keep out of the way of horses. Do not strike a horse: they are police officers and you could face legal charges.
TASERs
Prime MOI
Falls.
Common Injuries
Blunt trauma (from falls), cardiac difficulties, burns, psychological.
Deployment
TASERs are guns firing two wires with barbs which imbed themselves in a person's body. The wires then conduct 50,000 volts of electricity into the person at the will of the cop holding the gun. The sound of a TASER is a loud CLICK CLICK CLICK like an electric fence.
If you become aware of a TASER in the field, get out of the way and warn others to do the same. This is an arrest situation. Once someone has been spearfished with a TASER, the only way to stop the attack is to disable the cop, which we do not do.
Dogs
Prime MOI
Trained dog bite.
Common Injuries
Lacerations (usually to forearms and hands), psychological trauma.
About Police Dogs
We haven't seen much of this weapon in North American protests recently. They are generally used against targeted groups, mainly young people of color and those the state perceives as gender-variant.
They can be terrifying, but unlike other animal bites, you can be sure that there is no risk of rabies (all police dogs have rabies vaccinations).
How to protect yourself and your buddy
Police dogs are police. Do not assault them.
Although it is impossible to do this unless you have really trained for it, don't pull away if you are bit; push into the animal's mouth instead.
Chemical Weapons
Focus on OC pepper spray
Riot control munitions (chem weapons) were widely used between 1999-2004 across the US and Canada in protests where protesters outnumbered cops. They are still widely used in Denver and Oakland. Chicago cops have belt-clip personal canisters and some "Seattle spritzers," which look like supersoakers.
Purpose
To make people afraid; to make a crowd panic and disperse.
Types
Pepper spray (OC)
Short range, small crowd control.
Often used when police panic: fence coming down, police line broken, they feel they have lost control.
Rarely used to torture people into unlocking from lockdown blockade.
Tear gas (lachryminators)
CS or CN liquids or a combination that is dispersed as smoke.
Not likely to be used widely in Chicago because in some places it will get sucked down into CTA tunnels and shut down transit; and large-scale use is an admission that they have lost control.
Prevention
Know the scene, watch the cops, stay upwind.
Turn your back to any chemical weapon assault.
Best-Dressed Medic
Do not wear contact lenses to protests.
Cover up:
Skin and hair (rain gear, ballcap, hood).
Eyes (goggles or safety glasses).
Nose and mouth (bandanna over a dust mask, n-95 respirator).
Effects
Facilitator says:
Who here has been pepper sprayed or tear gassed? Everyone pay attention to those hands, because those people can give you reports of their experiences.
The chemicals in riot control munitions irritate the eyes, mucous membranes, and skin, with these effects:
Eyes hurt, difficulty seeing or breathing, coughing, pain on skin like a sunburn, panic if person can't breathe or see, intense and unfocused rage.
Person may be flailing, screaming, spitting and spluttering.
Occasionally you may see convulsions, shivering, and other strange things. If you don't know what's going on, admit your limits and get help.
Higher risk factors:
Asthma.
Condition affecting immune system (HIV, immune-suppressing meds, long-time steroid/prednisone use), skin (psoriasis, eczema), eyes (corneal damage, infection), respiratory tract (bronchitis, emphysema).
Young people, esp. under 6 (tiny airways).
Elderly people.
People who are pregnant, nursing, or trying to get pregnant.
People wearing contact lenses.
First Aid
Get consent.
Remember person may be blinded and enraged.
Move person to safe/uncontaminated area.
Encourage calm and steady breathing. This will lessen panic.
Encourage coughing and spitting. Patient doesn't want to swallow chemicals.
Assess for red flags, ask about contact lenses.
Calm, comfort, reassure, and educate about how the pain is temporary and we are extremely strong, and about the importance of decontamination before entering buildings. The most intense and painful symptoms are temporary and will go away within about 30 minutes with no treatment.
Do a water eyeflush to help restore sight more quickly.
Decontamination
Avoid entering enclosed spaces (like your house) with contaminated clothing, and be aware of vulnerable people who you might expose.
Take clothes off outside and put them into a plastic bag. Seal it and don't open until doing laundry.
Avoid touching anything (pets, furniture, car, phone, etc) until you have washed up.
Take a tepid shower -- heat will irritate a new burn. 2
Wash clothes immediately with detergents, several times if need be.
Red flags
Person leaves scene and breathing does not improve quickly.
Patient doesn't respond to first aid.
Unusual symptoms that don't quickly improve.
In these cases, get more help and/or call 911.