Posted on 10/24/2008 10:31:07 AM PDT by Roger W. Gardner
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Police prepare for unrest From The Hill.com By Alexander Bolton Posted: 10/21/08 07:58 PM [ET]
Police departments in cities across the country are beefing up their ranks for Election Day, preparing for possible civil unrest and riots after the historic presidential contest. Public safety officials said in interviews with The Hill that the election, which will end with either the nation’s first black president or its first female vice president, demanded a stronger police presence. Some worry that if Barack Obama loses and there is suspicion of foul play in the election, violence could ensue in cities with large black populations. Others based the need for enhanced patrols on past riots in urban areas (following professional sports events) and also on Internet rumors.
Democratic strategists and advocates for black voters say they understand officers wanting to keep the peace, but caution that excessive police presence could intimidate voters. Sen. Obama (Ill.), the Democratic nominee for president, has seen his lead over rival Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) grow in recent weeks, prompting speculation that there could be a violent backlash if he loses unexpectedly. Cities that have suffered unrest before, such as Detroit, Chicago, Oakland and Philadelphia, will have extra police deployed. In Oakland, the police will deploy extra units trained in riot control, as well as extra traffic police, and even put SWAT teams on standby. “Are we anticipating it will be a riot situation? No. But will we be prepared if it goes awry? Yes,” said Jeff Thomason, spokesman for the Oakland Police Department. “I think it is a big deal — you got an African-American running and [a] woman running,” he added, in reference to Obama and GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. “Whoever wins it, it will be a national event. We will have more officers on the street in anticipation that things may go south.” The Oakland police last faced big riots in 2003 when the Raiders lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl. Officials are bracing themselves in case residents of Oakland take Obama’s loss badly.
Political observers such as Hilary Shelton and James Carville fear that record voter turnout could overload polling places on Election Day and could raise tension levels. Shelton, the director of the NAACP’s Washington bureau, said inadequate voting facilities is a bigger problem in poor communities with large numbers of minorities. “What are local election officials doing to prepare for what people think will be record turnout at the polls?” said Shelton, who added that during the 2004 election in Ohio voters in predominantly black communities had to wait in line six to eight hours to vote. “On Election Day, if this continues, you may have some tempers flare; we should be prepared to deal with that but do it without intimidation,” said Shelton, who added that police have to be able to maintain order at polling stations without scaring voters, especially immigrants from “police states.”
Carville, who served as a senior political adviser to former President Bill Clinton, said that many Democrats would be very angry if Obama loses. He noted that many Democrats were upset by Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) loss to President Bush in the 2004 election, when some Democrats made allegations of vote manipulation in Ohio, the state that ultimately decided the race. Experts estimated that thousands of voters did not vote in Ohio because of poor preparation and long lines. Carville said Democratic anger in 2004 “would be very small to what would happen in 2008” if the same problems arose. Carville said earlier this month that “it would be very, very, very dramatic out there” if Obama lost, a statement some commentators interpreted as predicting riots. In an interview Tuesday, however, Carville said he did not explicitly predict rioting.
“A lot of Democrats would have a great deal of angst and anger,” said Carville, who predicted that on Election Day “the voting system all around the country is going to be very stressed because there’s going to be enormous turnout.” Other commentators have made such bold predictions. “If [Obama] is elected, like with sports championships, people may go out and riot,” said Bob Parks, an online columnist and black Republican candidate for state representative in Massachusetts. “If Barack Obama loses there will be another large group of people who will assume the election was stolen from him….. This will be an opportunity for people who want to commit mischief.” Speculation about Election-Day violence has spread on the Internet, especially on right-wing websites.
This has caught the attention of police departments in cities such as Cincinnati, which saw race riots in 2001 after police shot a young black man. “We’ve seen it on the Internet and we’ve heard that there could be civil unrest depending on the outcome of [the election,]” said Lt. Mark Briede of the Cincinnati Police Department. “We are prepared to respond in the case of some sort of unrest or some sort of incident.” Briede, like other police officials interviewed, declined to elaborate on plans for Election Day. Many police departments have policies prohibiting public discussion of security plans. James Tate, second deputy chief of Detroit’s police department, said extra manpower would be assigned to duty on Election Night. He said problems could flare whichever candidate wins.
“Either party will make history and we want to prepare for celebrations that will be on a larger scale than for our sports teams,” Tate said. He noted that police had to control rioters who overturned cars after the Tigers won the 1984 World Series. “We’re prepared for the best-case scenario, we’re prepared for the worst-case scenario,” he said. “The worst-case scenario could be a situation that requires law enforcement.” But Tate declined to describe what the worst-case scenario might look like, speaking gingerly like other police officials who are wary of implying that black voters are more likely than other voting groups to cause trouble. Shelton, of the NAACP, said he understands the need for police to maintain order. But he is also concerned that some political partisans may point their finger at black voters as potential troublemakers because the Democratic nominee is black. Shelton said any racial or ethnic group would get angry if they felt disenfranchised because of voting irregularities.
Police officials in Chicago, where Obama will hold a Nov. 4 rally, and Philadelphia are also preparing for Election Day. “The Chicago Police Department has been meeting regularly to coordinate our safety and security plans and will deploy our resources accordingly,” said Monique Bond, of the Chicago Police Department. Frank Vanore, of the Philadelphia Police Department, said officials were planning to mobilize to control exuberant or perhaps angry demonstrations after the World Series, which pits the Phillies against the Tampa Bay Rays. He said the boosted police activity would “spill right over to the election.”
“Guess I’ll just sit here clinging to my guns.”....
Me too, I feel safe. No one usually want’s to argue with a 45....
That only happens one time. Then there is another empty storefront; among others that moved away.
“I just purchased the Mossberg 500 12ga”
You need to look at the Mossberg 930 SPX.
That baby is a dandy looking piece of equipment. But the price on my used 500 was hard to resist.
I’m working the polls where I lived and I talked to the county election head yesterday and she told me that all local law enforcement will be increasing their presence around polling stations.
If O wins the social unrest consequences will be much greater than violence. Look for secession movements in select states, tax boycotts, threats of juntas, massive anti-abortion marches, egal challenges of every type including impeachment, dramatically energized conservative political action, and on and on.
Do not forget tax revolts. The NAACP has been promoting civil disobedience for years. Ha..They know not what they bargain for.
bmflr
I think if Hussein wins there will be looting. People will think "their time has come" and will start taking what is "rightfully theirs". They will probably also (correctly) figure that all will be forgiven anyway.
That’s a good point. There have been many bloody riots to celebrate winning teams.
That’s right.
We have no guns.
We’re just victims in waiting.
Please oh please oh please, don’t hurt us, Obamatards.
Please, throw us not into the briar patch of conflict.
Don’t force us to show how little we can do, individually, to counter the will of your ACORN-powered mobs.
All we have to defend ourselves are our no-guns, loaded with no-bullets, topped with no-scopes and no-laser sites.
And we don’t know how to use them.
Please, don’t try to hurt us, steal our things, or burn our places.
*Please*
I understand where you are coming from, but I’m not hoping for a fight. I hope to God I don’t have to and that everyone keeps calm. Who wants anarchy to come sweeping through their neighborhood?
Don’t think of it as anarchy sweeping through your neighborhood. Think of it as a local inoculation to avoid a body-wide fatal infection.
Sure, the little pricks are inconvenient, but easily manageable with the tools of modern surgical precision...
You sound like you’ve never been in a riot situation. Nobody wants to be in that, I don’t care how well-armed you are.
Lighten up Secret,
Of course nobody wants to be in a riot situation.
My point is, obviously, one must make one’s potential attackers more afraid of the repercussions of attack than they are attracted to the benefits of attacking. And one must posses the tactical capability of doing so.
If you are being given information ahead of time that you are about to be hit, you can do one of several things:
1) Nothing, and get hit
2) Get ready to duck, hoping the blow misses you
3) Hit hard, either as a first or counter strike
4) Prepare for a combination of 2) and 3)
If you chose 4), you get a gold star.
I am sorry, this is reality, and there are no refunds or exchanges.
And from a psychological POV, can you imagine what would happen if American society inverted to the point where thugs were afraid of lawful citizens, instead of the inverse like we have now? Geez, it would be Mayberry, dude.
Well that’s fine. I don’t disagree with your idea. You just kind of came across in your posts like you were trying a little too hard to convince people you’re a tough guy who can’t wait for trouble to begin.
Let’s see, Happy Rioters or Unhappy Rioters?
I’ll take Unhappy Rioters for $800 Alex...
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