The challenge of protecting the freedom of expression of some while at the same time protecting the rights of others to carry out their daily lives can be quite challenging, especially when the tasks fall into the hands of persons who perceive “rights” not applicable to the rest of us, who are often lean in the areas of leadership and decisiveness. Such persons, while academically strong, are often very poor stewards of the public’s most cherished assets — our colleges and universities. If scar tissue translates into wisdom, the information contained in this article may be helpful to law enforcement officers at all levels and agencies of all sizes.

There should always be an attempt to engage in discussions intended to prevent unlawful activities.

My background

A brief description of a portion of my background is pertinent to this discussion, as I spent approximately two years deep undercover in various organizations whose primary mission was the creation of chaos and disruption, primarily on college and university campuses throughout the nation.

The police chief in Los Angeles in 1968, in response to massive anti-war demonstrations taking place not only in Los Angeles but throughout the nation, created the Public Disorder Intelligence Division (PDID). It was his vision and decision that PDID would have deep undercover operatives who would infiltrate any organization throughout the nation whose actions were likely to have an adverse impact on the city of Los Angeles!

It is most significant to recognize that the late 1960s were a much different era with regard to investigative procedures, legal restrictions and social expectations. While the logical agency to conduct those types of investigations was the FBI, at that time the primary source of this type of intelligence information was generated by local law enforcement. Ultimately, I became the first of several long-haired solo police officers who, with no badge, no weapon and false identification, infiltrated various organizations. Some of these organizations were benign and others deadly (as in bombings and sabotage of public buildings and military facilities). I traveled throughout the nation in junk cars, got my pay in cash from a Taco Bell and stayed clear of police facilities. Cities where I was deeply embedded in various organizations (careful never to be the person in charge) included New York, Chicago, Ann Arbor, Austin, San Francisco, San Diego and certainly the greater Los Angeles area. These experiences provided me with rare opportunities in seeing campus disruptions from the inside looking out. (See My LAPD Journey: From Street Cop to Commander by Keith Bushey, pp. 96–137; available on Amazon). 

Consequence is the key

I find it unfathomable that some persons in high positions of responsibility fail to acknowledge the human reality of consequence in just about everything we do! In the case of civil unrest, the issue of consequence is the key to compliance. As indecisiveness and handwringing occurs, the problems just get bigger and more difficult to address!

Limits of freedom of speech and expression

When the actions of one person have a significant adverse impact on another person, the limit line has been found. Occupying the space of others, defacing property, causing the closure of facilities and related behaviors fall far outside the individual rights of any individual. Law-abiding citizens understand this.

Nature of campus administration leadership

The key factor in any discussion of campus unrest is the skill set and mindset of campus administration. Time and again, I have watched great people with superb intentions fail miserably in the handling of campus unrest. Realistically, higher education administrators are not trained in the handling of civil unrest, and exist in an environment that emphasizes collaboration, philosophical discussions, theoretical approaches and conversational explorations. Time and again, I have witnessed behaviors by educational administrators that caused me to wonder if they had ever had experience in the real world. This mindset can result in the type of insular behavior and paralysis that contributes to confusion and conflicting messages in dealing with the world outside of academia.

Nature of demonstrator–unrest leadership

Things are seldom as they appear, and there are most often multiple and concealed special agendas that contribute to an incident of campus unrest. Generally, the participants consist of a hard core with deep and passionate convictions regarding the key issue; a second group that is generally in sync with the key or related issue; persons with other issues or priorities who see the opportunity to use the event to further their goals; weak and superficial individuals who seize the opportunity to participate in a warped social event; and criminals who have a passion for anarchy. The lines separating these categories are not hard and fast, and there is most often some degree of overlap.

Role of immaturity

A reality that is helpful and interesting to be aware of in dealing
with input and demand from demonstrators (note that I said demonstrators instead of students, because of the high numbers of nonstudent participants). Many sit-down dialogue discussions are conducted with immature and disruptive marginal students (if students at all) who typically lack the knowledge to carry on a reasonable discussion about the topics of their demands and within a few short years will no longer even be on the campus whose destiny they are trying to influence (dis-investments, modified academic programs, etc.).

Discussions with demonstrator–unrest leadership

There should always be an attempt to engage in discussions intended to prevent unlawful activities, but it is important to recognize that campus unrest history makes clear the likely futility of dialogue. First, in protests involving highly contentious issues, there is a desire for chaos and violence; they typically want violence and publicity. Secondly, there is often no center of gravity among the participants. And finally, there are sometimes unseen agitators deep in the crowd with goals and intentions that are not going to be satisfied through dialogue. A common pattern is a dialogue session between campus administration, law enforcement and a leader from the crowd — all while the crowd participants continue to grow in numbers. Then when the meeting fails, the group is larger and more difficult to contain. Dialogue is always a necessary step in the process, but don’t waste too much time in pursuit of this impossible dream!

Law enforcement visibility

For the purposes of full disclosure, not all of my colleagues agree with me, but since this is my article, I choose to share my thoughts! In my early years, I favored a strong and conspicuous show of force to keep issues from developing. I now (generally) favor a minimal and low-key initial presence by officers, but with a concealed solid force close by and ready to respond on a moment’s notice. Although never intentionally, I have witnessed a number of situations where the heavy initial presence of tactically equipped officers played a role in the escalation of civil unrest. While each situation is different, if the circumstances appear to potentially tolerate a low-key strategy, my preference is the casual approach and positive dialogue by a couple of friendly officers who are seeking a nonconfrontational resolution. I am sure we can all think of officers who would be very good, and a few not so good, for this type of strategy.

Arrest activities

Many fine people have written extensively (me too!) on the subject of unusual occurrence management. While this article is not intended to be an exhaustive discussion of that topic, I would like to take the opportunity to throw out a few reminders of unusual control hints related to my scar tissue.

Purpose of arrests. Have a clear understanding with the local prosecutor and the school administration as to the purpose of the arrests; hopefully to restore order, prevent further damage and unrest, and seek prosecution. Work out the necessary procedures if there is a desire for continued detention to prevent the arrestees from returning to the incident location.

Arrest procedures. Train your people in UO and mass arrest procedures. If that has not occurred, give them a crash course in an empty parking lot a short distance away from the location to which you are responding. Every moment of preparation is time well spent.

Squad and platoon discipline. Create and maintain squad and platoon discipline, with a clear understanding of supervisors and their subordinates. Recognize the likelihood of a deafening noise level and the possible need for hand and arm signals among people. Hopefully everyone will have an operable earphone.

Jail buses. Recognize the value of the conspicuous approach of jail buses. While this alone may not resolve the unrest, be assured that some participants who don’t want to be arrested will leave. Conspicuously setting up booking processing tables will also motivate an additional percentage to leave.

Tactical guidance. Place the incident commander on an elevated location where all that is occurring can be seen in real time, and immediate tactical guidance can be communicated to the tactical leadership. Be sensitive to a location where people can get into and out of the command observation post without having to interact with troublesome participants. If command is to be effective, the tactical commander must have eyes on the situation and continuous communications with the tactical leadership.

Video teams. In addition to body-worn cameras, deploy and give specific instruction to video teams. Link video teams to specific arrest teams to ensure that the unrest leadership and most problematic participants are targeted for coordinated videotaped arrests. There is no such thing as too much video. Work hard to capture quality images that depict detailed facial features and illegal behaviors. There are always post-event difficulties in matching and identifying specific suspects with specific behaviors. If manpower permits, put a video team on likely exit routes in an attempt to get facial shots and license plate numbers from those who wore disguises and link suspects with vehicles. Don’t leave video decisions to the videographer; leadership needs to be involved in selecting photo targets.

Target key lawbreakers. Recognize the likelihood that you will not likely be able to arrest all of the lawbreakers, but do a solid job of those you are able to arrest. With the hopeful assistance of an intelligence officer(s) in the crowd, target the key lawbreaker, snatch them out of the crowd and remove them from the scene. Handcuffed lawbreakers are often portrayed as martyrs; get them out of the area ASAP.

Manage personnel. Keep all personnel on a short leash and in constant communications at the staging and assembly areas. There may be need for an immediate response, and having to go in search of personnel, especially a supervisor, is very problematic.

Rapid arrest process. Use a rapid arrest process that includes a photo of each arrestee with the arresting officer and facilitate the prompt return of the officers to the incident site. This phase of unusual occurrence operations can often be a chokepoint.

Real-time log. Ensure that a real-time log is kept of all actions and decisions. Its existence and accuracy will be essential for all reporting; it will be an invaluable document in just about all reports. In cases of litigation, you will see it often in both direct and cross- examination. A surefire method to get a high-quality log is to tell the reporter that he or she will be writing the after-action report!

Summary

There is no topic for me that is more applicable than my often-used expression: “It is always good to learn from our mistakes, but it is even better to learn from the mistakes of others!” I have made a number of mistakes and learned some pretty painful lessons in the management of unusual occurrences, including many on college and university campuses. I hope that those who follow me in the leadership trenches will read and take seriously the information contained in this article. If so, my scar tissue will not have been gained in vain.