Reply to UC Davis Police Indiscriminately Deploy Pepper Spray Against OWS Protesters

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[quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous]
But I am asking there are times when police rightfully need to clear protesters out of a public space, and what is the best method to do so?  pepper spray works and is non-lethal.[/quote]

Is the goal of authorities simply a matter of clearing a public space or is there a larger effort to bring an end to protests?

As in this case, non-violent protest is most effective when it provokes an unjust response. When you think about the civil rights marches, you think about fire hoses, police dogs, and police beating marchers. If there were peaceful marches that were ignored by authorities, I certainly don't know about them. So, assuming that the authorities don't want to strengthen the movement, they would want to clear the public space in the least confrontational manner possible. When Mayor Gray and most Council members sat down in the middle of the street, police handcuffed them and then led them away. Pepper spray was not used. If protesters refused to walk on their own means, I think most of them would be pretty easy to pick up (it might take four officers, but probably only two in most cases).

One thing I note about the protests in DC is how the police have generally taken the view that it is the protesters' right to protest and the police are basically protecting them. So, when they march in the street, the police block traffic. In turn, the protesters alert the police ahead of time of their marches. This has created trust between the protesters and the police. Most of the large marches are actually led by a police officer. Even when the protesters cross the line -- such as taking over the vacant Franklin school building -- the trust between the two sides allows it to be resolved peacefully. So, if the DC protesters ever blocked a public street, I imagine the police would leave them alone for quite a while and negotiate a reasonable ending. Things would really have to get out of hand before pepper spray was used.
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