This shows how entrenched and endemic the problem is....

..re large factions of the U.S police.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52952237

The initial assault , whilst bad enough is less of an issue than the fact that 57 'colleagues' in the unit saw fit to resign due to 2 'out of control' policemen being suspended after an unprovoked assault left a elderly man critically ill in hospital. Much of what is going on regarding police behaviour is not even racism but a failure in the selection process, lack of training, and a machismo /'brothers in arms' thuggish attitude to crowd control which appears endemic throughout the force.

However we view the British police, it rarely raise its head although example like Orgreave show it can happen. Generally though, UK police are far less confrontational though that is largely due to the type of society we have and the relative lack of armed opposition they face day-to-day. Even the arrest process where handcuffing even minor offenders behind their backs, to our eyes at least, seems completely OTT.

I am no psychiatrist or expert in crowd control but I often wonder if heavily armed and shielded riot police actually incites this kind of behaviour from them, provoking and antagonising protestors as it visually creates an extreme 'them vs us' attitude. Rather than calming the crowd it ramps up the self defence mechanism on both sides inciting violent behaviour on both sides. In the US sealing off escape routes only made matters worse since it runs counter to instructions to disperse as . Rather than attempting to diffuse situations they always seem hell-bent on ramping up the scale of violence.

 

Crazy.
An innocuous push.( after shouting to the man back off. ) Should lead to a life threatening condition. (but these things happen not wishing to cause injury)

To a degree I can see why colleagues seek to support the two officers. Any other time there would have been a thorough investigation that would normally take weeks.

But as you say training and Common sense would you’d hope be the order of the day.

There were lots of police. It would have just taken one cop to stand his ground (the man didn’t appear a major threat) Liase with the protester. Then move him on. Or arrest if necessary.

 

Their training in riot control mode tells them to do exactly what they did.

The issue of appalling selection processes, bad training, a lack of national co ordination, and a strong and well organised union are the issues.

But - that is an enabler for racism amongst many other issues.

No ones saying racism is the only problem, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a problem. And fixing the problems that lead to the racism will fix many other issues too.

 

Then they appluaded them as the left the courthouse saying "they were just obeying orders". Might be true, but irrelevant as they dont have to obey illegal orders. Additionally if they were then clearly more people need arresting higher up the chain. Fun fact: it takes more hours training to

Quite correct. It puts everyone on edge because the threat of violence from police is overt and implied by their teargas, batons, pepper spray, baton rounds, rubber bullets etc. And then of course they cover their badges and dont wear body cameras so when they duff someone up it can make it harder to prosecute. Hiding bades and IDs in something ive seen many times by police on demonstrations. I challenged them over it and failed to get a response.

Here's some footage of Chicago police failing to do the same


Edit: also note that tear gas burns and with so many police ranomly firing it into and around crowds it's no suprise that some of the fires are started by the police, not proesters.

 

Average police training in some US states is 16 weeks apparently (compared to 32 to become a qualified barber). Combine this with their obsession with gun culture, hence they have no idea what they are facing, partly explains why they don't deal with these incidents very well. Also, what was the old gentleman thinking? In the middle of a curfew?

 

No justification for just leaving the old guy bleeding but tbf to the cop, he gave him a shove that probably wouldn't have done any harm to a younger man. The old bloke wasn't steady on his feet and he stumbled a few steps before falling and cracking his head on the pavement. In a curfew, when they tell you to move and you don't, unfortunately that type of treatment is commonplace.

 

I don't see how that's relevant. He could see the guy in front of him, he knew he wasn't dealing with a younger man. You don't need specialist training to know that if you push a pensioner backwards there's a high risk that they'll fall over.

 

I think i saw Chris Hayes (journalist) say that Buffalo police had earlier been injured by a 4x4 being driven into them.
The old guy was also an activist rather than an innocent bystander.
That for balance.
However i also saw the extended version of the incident that shows the police weren't advancing on some rabid mob. There were literally no more than a few people around so the old guy posed no threat.
The police might have been wound up by earlier injuries to their colleagues but.....
THEY ARE PAID TO ACT IN A CONTROLLED MANNER. IT'S THEIR JOB!
There is no excuse for the guy being injured like that as far as i can see.