Police vs. Rioting Fans

So there is more outrage being misdirected at Boston's Police Department. After the Boston Celtic's won the NBA championship many fans were out on the street "celebrating" en masse. Of course with many championships in the past few years the BPD were out in force with a plan to subdue the crowd.

We don't know exactly what happened during the Celtic's celebration. All we have accounts from two parties.

"While our investigation is still preliminary," he said Monday, "it appears from the evidence that we have reviewed thus far that officers did not use excessive force."

How does he know this? Why, his police officers told him so, of course. And other witnesses backed them up. And the officers involved did not use their spray or batons.

All of which, apparently, cancels out the accounts by Woodman's friends, who said they were forced to leave the area because the police, who had already surrounded Woodman, had threatened to arrest them.

All nine of the police officers directly involved in the arrest went to the hospital that night with stress-related complaints.

Of course we are a city who is still sensitive over the police be cause of Victoria Snelgrove who died during a Red Sox "celebration" when she was shot in the eye by a police officer's pepper pellet gun.

Maybe it is time all these kids listen to the Mayor and the Police when they ask the people to stay inside and not fill the overcrowded streets where a few bad apples can change the mood of a scene real fast.

I was out after the 2004 world series. I wasn't doing anything wrong, I was just running around the stadium checking out the scene, high-fiving and yelling. After the Celtic's win I saw grown men (easily 30+ prob 40+) leaving the Fleet Center with chairs from the arena and ripping down posters from the wall.
The police are in charge with controlling a situation when they are outnumbered at LEAST 10 to 1. If you want to avoid the dangerous situation then stay home.

Victoria was in a much more riotous situation and was probably just like me, causing no harm just taking in the scene. She just happened to be hit by a fluke shot in an attempt to control the crowd. Luckily for all of us the Police learned from this situation and have taken proactive measures to control crowds with out potentially lethal devices. Imagine being deathly allergic to pepper and then going out to celebrate a victory. If the police used pepper spray (as they frequently do) then you would be done for. Would that be the police's fault?

I'm not saying the police are off the hook in this. It is fine to suspect that they may have overstepped their bounds. However we should be fair and wait to see the cases presented by both parties before painting the police and heavy handed monsters. I would probably side on the police before some young drunk kids. Why do we always assume they did no wrong? Is it the attack of the helicopter parents? Their kids do no wrong?

That is my biggest fear.


quotes from boston.comboston.com

Labels: Sports

- posted by Doug @ 12:31:00 PM