Boca Raton Police Civil Disturbances & Mass Demonstrations PDF

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Standard Operating Procedure 46.03 CIVIL DISTURBANCES AND MASS DEMONSTRATIONS Revised: December 4, 2017 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this Standard Operating Procedure is to provide guidelines regarding the Boca Raton Police Department’s response to incidents in...

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Standard Operating Procedure 46.03 CIVIL DISTURBANCES AND MASS DEMONSTRATIONS Revised: December 4, 2017 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this Standard Operating Procedure is to provide guidelines regarding the Boca Raton Police Department’s response to incidents involving civil disturbances and mass demonstrations. II. POLICY: It is the Department’s policy and goal to preserve the peace while protecting the rights of demonstrators to assemble peacefully and exercise free speech during mass demonstrations. III. DEFINITIONS: Chemical Agents: Chemicals that are designed to cause temporary pain and irritation to eyes, skin and the respiratory system. Chemical Munitions: Devices used to dispense chemical agents that can be hand-thrown or launched from a less-lethal launcher. A list of chemical agents can be found in 01.310 Appendix A. Less-Lethal Munitions: projectiles that are designed to stun, temporarily incapacitate, or cause temporary discomfort to a person without penetrating the person's body. IV. PROCEDURE: A. COMMUNICATION: 1. Constant, clear, and immediate communication is essential in crowd management because it accomplishes the following: a. It ensures unity of action among police officers and an understanding between police officials and crowd leaders. b. It can serve to defuse a threatening situation. 2. The incident commander shall establish communications with demonstration leaders as soon as conditions permit to obtain firsthand knowledge of crowd mood, facilitate open dialog, and maintain the peace. Effective: February 4, 2013 Revised: December 4, 2017 Civil Disturbances and Mass Demonstrations SOP No. 46.03 Page 1 of 8 3. The incident commander shall ensure that lines of communication remain open up and down the chain of command by using the following procedure: a. The chief of police and assistant chief of the Field Services Division shall be notified as soon as possible. b. The district/bureau commander, if present, shall be given information that is useful in decision making. c. Supervisors shall be given information and instructions useful to them and their subordinates concerning management of the crowd. 4. Supervisors shall constantly observe and speak with LEOs to ensure that the following occurs: a. The LEOs are complying with the orders of the LEO in charge. b. The LEOs are completely aware of their responses to changes in the crowd’s attitude. c. 5. The LEOs who are showing strain are relieved. LEOs shall not engage in demonstration-related discussions with participants. a. LEOs shall display an attitude of neutrality and shall be courteous and helpful, mindful that expressions of friendliness are a valuable tool in maintaining peace. b. LEOs will ignore name-calling and verbal baiting designed to provoke an LEO into an incident. B. SHOW OF FORCE: 1. In normal circumstances, law enforcement personnel shall not be withdrawn from any area involved in civil disorder to permit any persons entering the area to conduct discussions, negotiate agreements, or attempt to disperse demonstrators. LEOs in the area shall remain to protect life and property and prevent the build-up of demonstrators. 2. LEOs shall use the minimum show of force necessary to control the specific situation. a. A show of force at an early stage of a peaceful demonstration could result in an escalation of the problem. b. A show of force at the proper time will act as a deterrent to civil disorder. c. A strong reserve force shall be kept available nearby and out of view of demonstrators. Effective: February 4, 2013 Revised: December 4, 2017 Civil Disturbances and Mass Demonstrations SOP No. 46.03 Page 2 of 8 3. Circumstances may require that LEOs use one, several, or none of the following levels of force, depending on the level of opposition encountered: C. a. Verbal persuasion b. Show of force c. Ultimatum to disperse and leave the area, or face arrest d. Tactical use of crowd formations e. Use of chemical agents f. Less than lethal munitions g. Use of the ASP h. Use of K-9 PERSONNEL: 1. Personnel needed to cover the disorder will be drawn from the following: a. First, on-duty LEOs. b. Second, LEOs on extra duty police employment or 10-118, using the police vehicle off-duty. c. Investigative Services Bureau (ISB) personnel may be used to answer calls for service if not needed at the civil disorder. d. If necessary, off-duty personnel shall be called in and shall meet at the Department, unless otherwise instructed. 2. All authorizations, directions, applications and orders to discontinue the use of force shall be recorded in the incident commander's after-action report. D. TACTICS: 1. Police Lines: a. A police line comprised of either uniformed personnel or blockade devices, such as barricades, shall be established at the direction of the incident commander whenever it becomes necessary to isolate an area in which large scale unlawful activity is occurring or has the potential of occurring. The objective of a police line is to impede the continuous forward movement of an unruly crowd and indicate a state of readiness to react forcefully, if necessary. Effective: February 4, 2013 Revised: December 4, 2017 Civil Disturbances and Mass Demonstrations SOP No. 46.03 Page 3 of 8 b. Persons, who reside, are employed, have a business, or have business of an emergency nature, in an area marked off by a police line normally shall not be barred from entering the area unless their safety would be jeopardized or their entry would interfere with police operations. Persons not falling into one of these categories shall be prohibited from crossing a police line into a disturbance area until order has been restored and the police line has been removed. c. Verbal harassment directed against officers on a police line shall not be cause for LEOs to break ranks to make an arrest or to engage in a verbal confrontation. i. Assaults in the form of thrown missiles capable of inflicting injury, or physical attacks on officers, will not be tolerated. ii. Supervisors shall make every effort to identify and have arrested those engaged in assaults. d. When the establishment of a police line adversely affects normal vehicular and pedestrian traffic within a large area of the City, the public information officer shall disseminate this information to the public. 2. Warnings: a. When the intensity level of a crowd rises and unlawful disruption, either through violent or passive means, is occurring to the extent that the incident commander determines there is a need to make a non-threatening police response, he/she will warn the crowd to disperse. Based on the provisions of FSS 870.04, the ranking officer on the scene must issue the following proclamation before the police make an arrest for unlawful assembly: "I am Officer _____, a police officer with the Boca Raton Police Department, I hereby declare this to be an unlawful assembly and I command you, in the name of the State of Florida, to disperse immediately." This will be repeated two times. b. LEOs shall make issuances from stationary places that are observable to the crowd, or to a large number of participants. i. Additional warnings, if necessary, shall be given from police vehicles, equipped with public address systems, moving around the crowd. ii. The issuance of a warning shall be amplified and repeated to ensure that the entire assemblage can hear the warning. 3. Arrest: a. If, after a reasonable amount of time following the final warning, the crowd continues in its refusal to disperse, the incident commander shall direct that the violators be arrested. Effective: February 4, 2013 Revised: December 4, 2017 Civil Disturbances and Mass Demonstrations SOP No. 46.03 Page 4 of 8 b. The number of warnings given, the method used, and the intervals between warnings and between the final warning and any order to arrest, shall be video recorded and documented in the after action report. c. Documentation shall be made, pictorially and video recorded if possible, of exit routes available to the crowd, and of any persons who leave the area. d. In assessing the situation, the incident commander should determine the direction in which he/she intends to move the crowd. i. A demonstrating crowd should not be dispersed into a business district or other area containing attractive looting targets. ii. Crowd members shall be driven away from attractive looting targets and toward an area where the physical features tend to break the crowd into small groups, or into open spaces. e. All police personnel shall be assembled within the outer perimeter areas, out of sight of the crowd, and marched in military fashion into the critical area. f. Certain squads shall be designated to make arrests. The squad supervisor shall advise squad members of the appropriate charge or charges and direct them to arrest selected participants. g. If an arrested person is seated and agrees to walk, the arresting LEO shall lead him/her from the crowd to the transport vehicle. In normal conditions, if an arrested person is seated and refuses to walk two or more LEOs shall carry him/her. h. Procedures set forth in Departmental Standards Directive 72.100 Detainee Processing govern provisions for carrying out mass arrests. 4. Use of Chemical Agents: a. Chemical agents shall be used primarily as an offensive weapon for dispersing illegally assembled crowds or to protect lives and property when the circumstances indicate that the use of chemical agents would be the most effective manner of accomplishing the objective. b. The chief of police or his/her designee must approve the use of chemical agents. c. Before the dispensing LEO uses chemical agents, he/she must ensure that avenues of escape are available to the crowd and that other LEOs will not be incapacitated by the use of chemical agents. d. Only specially trained LEOs previously selected for the task shall be allowed to carry and dispense chemical agents. Effective: February 4, 2013 Revised: December 4, 2017 Civil Disturbances and Mass Demonstrations SOP No. 46.03 Page 5 of 8 e. LEOs shall use subject control spray (SCS) against crowds only as necessary in a defensive posture. f. The types of chemical agents now in common use are smoke (HC hexachloroethane) and chemical agents (CS 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile). i. Smoke (HC) is a relatively harmless means to disperse crowds. a) Smoke has a psychological impact especially when colored smokes are used and cause individuals to lose contact with one another. b) Smoke may also be used to screen the movement of the police. ii. Chemical agents (CS) cause irritation of the eyes, tears, and a burning sensation in the mucous areas and on the skin. a) Chemical agent symptoms are fleeting and usually disappear within a few minutes after the victim is removed from the contaminated area. b) Chemical agents may be used indoors and outdoors since decontamination is accomplished with little difficulty. g. Individuals in police custody who have been affected by chemical agents shall be given an opportunity, when practical, to alleviate the effects of the irritant by washing and flushing the affected areas with cold water. i. Individuals in police custody who have been affected by chemical agents shall be advised not to use creams, ointments, or bandages on affected areas, and shall be advised that continual rubbing of the skin against affected clothing will cause irritation and reddening of the skin. ii. If burning symptoms persist beyond 45 minutes, the LEO will be required to transport the individual to a hospital emergency room for examination and treatment. h. The incident commander shall report the following in his/her after-action report: i. All uses of chemical agents ii. The circumstances that occasioned the use of chemical agents iii. The types and, as nearly as possible, the amounts of chemical agents used iv. Effective: February 4, 2013 Revised: December 4, 2017 The tactical results of use of chemical agents Civil Disturbances and Mass Demonstrations SOP No. 46.03 Page 6 of 8 v. Reports of ill effects from the chemical agents other than normal irritation 5. Less-Lethal Munitions: a. LEOs may utilize less-lethal munitions in accordance with the guidelines outlined in Departmental Standards Directive 01.300 Response to Resistance. b. A list of available less-lethal munitions is located in Departmental Standards Directive 01.310, Appendix B. 6. Use of the ASP: a. LEOs shall use the ASP primarily as a defensive weapon. b. Because it is desirable to maintain a low profile during non-critical periods, LEOs should take care to avoid an aggressive or intimidating appearance through the inappropriate handling of the ASP. c. The ASP may be used as an offensive weapon when LEOs use it tactically, e.g., held with hands at each end and extended from the body, as a show of force, or to contain or disperse a crowd. 7. Use of Canines: a. The use of canines for crowd management purposes is prohibited without the permission of a supervisor and then only in accordance within guidelines specified in Departmental Standards Directive 41.250 Use of Canines. E. OPERATIONS: 1. Situation Maps: a. The Department has situation maps available for use in plotting operational commitments during unusual occurrences. b. The maps indicate not only streets and waterways, but show residences and buildings, and are of a scale small enough to plot items of interest in controlling unusual occurrences. 2. Labor Disputes: a. The manner in which a labor dispute is to be controlled is largely at the discretion of the incident commander. i. Command posts shall not be located on or within the facilities of the parties involved. Effective: February 4, 2013 Revised: December 4, 2017 Civil Disturbances and Mass Demonstrations SOP No. 46.03 Page 7 of 8 ii. The incident commander may meet with representatives of the parties involved, and shall inform them of their rights and responsibilities. iii. Force and violence will not be tolerated, and the law shall be enforced with impartiality. iv. The right to the public use of streets and sidewalks shall be protected. v. Acts that lead to disorder are prohibited. vi. Rights of employees to conduct orderly picketing shall be protected. vii. Rights of non-striking employees and management to continue normal operations shall be protected. b. The Department cannot declare a labor dispute to be illegal; such declaration can only be established by a duly constituted court of law. 3. Occupying, Camping, Temporary Structures, and Personal Property: a. LEOs shall be familiar with and enforce the City’s administrative policy entitled Camping, Temporary Structures, and Personal Property in regards to demonstrators. See Appendix A. Approved: Daniel C. Alexander Chief of Police Effective: February 4, 2013 Revised: December 4, 2017 Date: Civil Disturbances and Mass Demonstrations SOP No. 46.03 Page 8 of 8