crowd dispersal is not "force"...prevention is/was the goal... and it worked...expect to see much more of it...easyrider16 wrote:I don't really have an issue with police using force to quell an out-of-control, violent crowd, like one that broke through a barricade. Was there any evidence of that type of thing in this case, a day later? I don't see how it's appropriate for the police to be the aggressor in using force before any illegal act is committed by the crowd, regardless of what happened the day before.Mister Moose wrote:Might be because only the day before, protesters broke through a barricade in front of the White House and the Secret Service decided force was necessary for that size aggressive crowd.
what kind of police do you want? police that show up to protect and save your life? or police that show up to collect your body?
what kind of police do you want? police that show up to protect and save your life? or police that show up to collect your body?Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser and District officials on Monday imposed a 7 p.m curfew after protests turned violent over the weekend, with monuments vandalized and historic buildings set ablaze.
Bowser, speaking at a press conference Monday alongside D.C. public safety and health officials, condemned the “destruction” of the capital city.
SECRET SERVICE AGENTS WOUNDED OUTSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE, CAR BOMBS FEARED AMID DC RIOTS
“I want to be very clear about something as the nation’s capital. We are frequent hosts to First Amendment demonstrations, and we applaud the American spirit of protest and especially protest to their federal government,” she said. “However, we do not, and we will not, allow the destruction of our hometown, by people who are coming here to protest or by D.C. residents.”
Bowser said she and local officials “certainly empathize with the righteous cause that people are here protesting.”
“Every single American should be outraged by the murder of George Floyd, however, smashed windows and looting are becoming a bigger story than the broken systems that got us here,” she said.
Bowser imposed a 7 p.m. curfew for Monday and Tuesday, noting that essential personnel and members of the media are exempt.
“We want your voices to be heard, but we also want to protect the safety of everyone in our city,” Bowser said. “Tonight’s curfew will begin at 7 p.m. and it will run for two days.”
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham offered a stark warning to those who do not abide by the curfew.
“If you are not a member of the media or have an essential function, local police and federal police will take you into custody,” Newsham said. “That is a warning. And I am hopeful that warning will be shared by everyone who is listening.”
Newsham went on to detail the unrest in the city Sunday night—noting that there was “destruction of property and unnecessary injury to people in our city,” including “rioting, damage and looting.”
RECTOR OF CHURCH NEAR WHITE HOUSE SET ABLAZE AMID RIOTS
The decision comes after Bowser imposed an 11 p.m. curfew Sunday night, which she acknowledged was too late.
“We’re going to give [law enforcement] the maximum amount of time and tools that they need,” Bowser said Monday.
Riots escalated in Washington, D.C., and across the country Sunday night in response to Minneapolis man George Floyd’s death in police custody last week.
Journalists injured, arrested while reporting on protests nationwideVideo
U.S. Marshals and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents were deployed into the streets of D.C. to help beef up security alongside local police, Secret Service and Homeland Security agents at the direction of the Justice Department.
Additionally, the entire Washington, D.C. National Guard was being called in to help with the response to protests outside the White House and elsewhere in the nation’s capital, according to two Defense Department officials.
As authorities clashed with demonstrators for the third straight night, the parish house connected to the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church across the street from the White House was set on fire late Sunday. The basement, which was also torched, is used for child care during church services and had recently undergone renovations.
The church says every president beginning with James Madison, “until the present,” has attended a service at the church, giving it the nickname, “the church of presidents.”
Bowser, on Monday, said she walked through St. John’s on Monday, and was “quite angry at the vandalism and arson there.” Bowser acknowledged that the fire was “intentionally set” and said “that type of destruction is intolerable.”
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) building was also set ablaze near the White House. The AFL-CIO is the nation's largest pro-union group.
