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Anatomy of a Police Riot


    Picture (c)2000 by COPWATCH.com

    The above photograph was taken on December 1, 1999 at approximately 2:30 in the afternoon. This shot was taken looking West along Virginia, toward a demonstration that was headed East. The demonstraion was one block outside the no protest zone established by the mayor the previous night, ostensibly for the purpose of stopping violent protests. A few seconds later the demonstration would turn at this intersection and head south, parallel to and one block away from the no protest zone.

    It is interesting to note, that had a "dispersal" order been issued by the police at this point, it could not have been enforced, according to the most recent case issued by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Collins v. Arnold. This is because before a legal dispersal order can be given, a threat to the public safety must be apparent. The ninth circuit specifically ruled that the police could not use violence which occurred on a given day to justify a dispersal order issued on a subsequent day. This is the second day of the demonstrations, and on this day, no violent activity had yet taken place.

    View a video the demonstrators at this intersection. (Real Player required)

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