Oakland police change crowd control policies after Occupy

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Oakland police change crowd control policies after Occupy

By Mary Slosson

Mon Apr 23, 2012 8:30pm EDT

(Reuters) - Oakland's Police Department will significantly change how it trains officers to control large crowds following criticism over its practices during anti-Wall Street protests last year that sometimes erupted into violence, the department said on Monday.

"It is our duty to protect public safety and at the same time balance the free speech rights of individual protesters with the rights of non-protesting residents," Police Chief Howard Jordan said in a statement.

"In the few individual cases of alleged and known police misconduct, I have acted quickly to investigate and hold officers accountable," he said.

Oakland's police practices came under intense scrutiny last year when a former Marine and Iraq war veteran, Scott Olsen, was critically injured during a demonstration in October. Protesters said he was hit in the head by a tear gas canister but authorities have never said exactly how he was hurt.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/24/us-usa-occupy-oakland-police-idUSBRE83N00I20120424

[sinkingfeeling]

1. So, what are they changing? The article really doesn't say.

[zbdent]

3. They're confiscating cameras and cell phones ...

[woo me with science]

4. No, it doesn't, does it.

See an awful lot of "journalism" like this lately.

[lonestarnot]

2. How does one morph without the mo?

[MineralMan]

5. No information on how they're changing policy

in that story. Too bad.

[MineralMan]

6. Here's a story with more information on the changes:

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_20462130/police-announce-new-crowd-control-tactics

Not enough details, but at least some info. What is proposed doesn't sound like much change. Some talk about training and "communications." Not much substance, really.