Fire-resistant BDUs are an investment worth making and fire extinguishers must be on hand.

Officers must be masters at gaining physical control of arrestees quickly and defensibly in a crowd.

Train to be masters at hands-on control, for quick arrest and control in a crowd. However, policing these events does expose officers to attack. Long sleeves and long pants should also be the uniform of the day any time tear gas might be used.Īgencies that have trained teams and commanders continue to be effective during these events. The bare minimum beyond duty gear for an officer facing a potentially violent crowd is a helmet, gas mask, carrier, wooden baton and ring. Officers should be appropriately equipped depending on the event being policed. These include commanders being able to issue commands to their officers to move as a team in formations like columns, lines, wedges, echelons, crossbows and encirclements.

Large stationary or slow-moving crowds can be managed by the use of classic crowd control, tactics and formations by police agencies. Here are a few specific skill sets to strive to develop that have proved successful in the past. To survive during potentially violent events such as these, police officers need to be able to apply the right combination of tactics to maintain or restore peace and personally survive while doing it.Ĭan you imagine putting your officers into this for real without experiencing it first in training like these officers did? (Photo/Dan Marcou)

The looting and burning of businesses in cities all over the United States during widespread rioting.

The abandoning and burning of a police precinct house in Minneapolis.

The running down of NYPD officers at the scene of looting.

Two officers deliberately hit in Buffalo, N.Y., by a hit and run driver in an SUV.

The targeting of four officers who were shot in St.

Louis Police captain shot while guarding a friend’s pawn shop.

The killing of Federal Officer David Patrick Underwood who was shot to death in Oakland.

A lone NYPD officer was beaten by multiple attackers with metal debris.

An officer shot in the head in Las Vegas.

During the current conflagration and carnage plaguing large urban areas following the death of George Floyd (may he rest in peace), some riot-related attacks consisted of:

Can riot shield stop bullets