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Berkeley Probes 'Hands-Off' Police Response to Protest Chaos
Quote:
University of California, Berkeley police took a hands-off approach to protesters on the campus last week when violent rioters caused chaos when they overtook a largely peaceful protest against a right-wing speaker. But that response by campus officers is being questioned amid widening political polarization and increasingly hostile demonstrators.
Last week's protest featured "Black Bloc" tactics employed by mask-wearing protesters dressed head-to-toe in dark clothing and using crude weapons to vandalize property.
While officers largely stood to the side, about 150 people labeled "agitators" by Berkeley police used metal rods, Molotov cocktails and commercial-grade fireworks to overwhelm police and smash bank branch and storefront windows in downtown Berkeley.
They also lit raging fires in a rampage that caused more than $100,000 damage while protesting the scheduled appearance of right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos on Feb. 1, whose event was canceled while he was evacuated from campus in a bullet-proof jacket.
Only one person was arrested in the mayhem that injured six people — prompting criticism of training for campus police at the entire University of California system that emphasizes officer restraint and patience during protests in the name of protecting students' free speech rights.
"The UC 'hands-off' approach was to the citizens' detriment and the officers' detriment in this situation," said John Bakhit, a lawyer for the union representing about 400 of the system's police officers.
Officers should have been given more discretion to prevent the vandalism and violence and make arrests at the Berkeley protest, Bakhit said.
"The frustrating thing for the police officers is that they weren't allowed to do their jobs," he said.
Berkeley campus police may soon face another test because Yiannopoulos plans to return to give the speech he said he was "prevented from delivering." "Hopefully within the next few months," he wrote Saturday on Facebook.
I totally agree with the university police depts' decision.
Property damage wasnt that bad, at the most intense, it was contained to a portable light that was burned and a few windows were smashed, but actual injury to people was very minor for such a large amount of people.
If they engaged protestors, we would have seen people getting hurt on tv and the fake outrage would have been 10x worse.
I totally agree with the university police depts' decision.
Property damage wasnt that bad, at the most intense, it was contained to a portable light that was burned and a few windows were smashed, but actual injury to people was very minor for such a large amount of people.
If they engaged protestors, we would have seen people getting hurt on tv and the fake outrage would have been 10x worse.
Over $100k in damage, but the real damage is to their reputation and free speech. Police should have been stronger from the beginning and Im assuming they will be next time.
Anyone who got hurt by the rioters should sue the University. Anyone attending the event should sue for them allowing people to be put in harms way because of the policies of the UC.
Over $100k in damage, but the real damage is to their reputation and free speech. Police should have been stronger from the beginning and Im assuming they will be next time.
$100,000? That's nothing.
Their reputation? The UC Berkeley Police Dept will survive.
Free Speech? Is alive and well at UC Berkeley and that speaker plans to come back. Hopefully the anarchists will stay away.
Anyone who got hurt by the rioters should sue the University. Anyone attending the event should sue for them allowing people to be put in harms way because of the policies of the UC.
I just love how letigious conservatives suddenly are.
How much should they get? $2, $3, $5 million?
I saw it on television, should I sue them too?
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