zlacker

You are correct, in that "something" also starts it. It isn't that a cop just decide to start violence. But that "something" usually doesn't warrant the amount of violence. ESPECIALLY given that the protest is about police brutality. In the incident we were both referring to, you claimed "the protestors were pushing the fence" So what? That doesn't necessitate macing the entire crowd. "They deployed umbrellas" (In Seattle!) Again, no response warranted. "They deployed over the barrier" Wow, such violence from the crowd! No, that doesn't warrant a response either. "An officer swats a pink umbrella" And DESTROYS it. This is the incident that sparks a ton of mace and flash grenades... And yet you claim the cops didn't react for no reason? Yes they did. If the cop didn't grab the umbrella, and start whacking it with a weapon, then the violence wouldn't have occured. The girl, on one side of the fence has her umbrella destroyed by the cops, and is started to be beat at with a stick... And a fellow cop sprays her with mace to "get the girl off"? Why not just NOT rip the umbrella from her in the first place?

>>chrism+(OP)
We’re saying a lot of the same things. I feel like you didn’t read my post carefully, and you’re making some wrong assumptions about my post.

Why do you equate my post with something that resembles saying that anything the police did was justified?

Unlike the parent, everything you said about the incident is accurate. You’ve interjected your opinion on each event of the incident, which is fine. You’re having an honest conversation. We can’t have those when we start out with hyperbole, omissions, and fabrications. Case in point, you’ve suggested alternative actions that could have been taken, which would not have been possible if we went with the original narrative. After all, if they do this for “literally no reason”, there’s no possible fix for that.

Emphasizing de-escalation sounds like a great idea. On a subsequent night, they changed their procedures to put the fence about 100 ft in front of them. That would ensure that they could not feel “threatened” or agitated by protestors partially encroaching the barrier. It also solves the problem of a mouthy kid getting right in your face and cussing you out, which might trigger a negative reaction. It looked like it went a lot better that time.