The actions of the peaceful demonstrators were not the cause of the looters and violence that occurred later. The looting and violence came from people that were looking to incite these types of actions in order to be destructive and for personal gain. I feel that police should respond to civil disobedience by show of force. The biggest part of show of force is officer presence. The police must be well trained and capable of handling multiple contingencies that come along with civil disobedience. An instrumental part of being well trained is knowing the Constitution so the police do not violate any demonstrators civil rights. During the time of the Ferguson civil disobedience, there were protests in Nashville as well as many other cities. While in …show more content…
Recently, there was a peaceful pro-Trump rally at the War Memorial in Nashville. The rally was properly requested and had a permit allowing them to gather for their requested time. Intelligence gathered showed that a substantial anti-Trump group was planning on attending in the attempt to disrupt the peaceful demonstration. They planned to disrupt the rally by using air horns, megaphones, loud music coming from their vehicles, and revving their engines on their cars. Being on state property, the Tennessee Highway Patrol was charged with overseeing the planned rally. I was assigned to walk within the crowd and watch for people who were attempting to cause civil disturbance. The Tennessee Highway Patrol had a large trooper presence there and that became significant when numerous fights broke out between the two parties. Several anti-Trump personnel were arrested and taken to jail for assault, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct. It is my experience that officer presence along with a show of force is instrumental during civil disobedience. When peaceful protests turn into violence, the police agencies have to have the ability to quickly diminish the violence in order to protect life and