7-805 - Civil Disturbances

7-805 CIVIL DISTURBANCES  (04/20/01)

(B-C)

MPD personnel will not interfere with lawful protests and/or demonstrations. Unless a crime has been committed, officers are responsible only for keeping the peace at civil disturbances.  If a citizen’s arrest is made, officers are required to accept the prisoner unless it appears that the arrest is unlawful. 

Officers responding to large-scale disturbances, or those that are likely to become violent, shall notify their supervisor and the on-duty Watch Commander. The responding supervisor or Watch Commander shall assume incident command and determine the need for additional assistance, equipment, and tactics to be used.  The responding supervisor or Watch Commander shall contact MECC, who shall contact the Chief of Police and the appropriate Bureau Head, informing them of the situation.

The first level of additional assistance shall be precinct officers and designated response cars. The supervisor or on-scene incident commander shall establish a field command post with a designated staging area. The incident commander shall designate officers for security details for police vehicles and equipment.

The incident commander may activate the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) in order to provide additional demonstration management resources, or to deploy chemical/less lethal munitions as necessary and in accordance with MPD policies for its use. Upon activation, the ERU will be deployed/directed by the ERU commander in consultation with the incident commander. 

The incident commander shall be in charge of the incident as a whole, however, the ERU commander shall direct the specific actions of ERU members once they have been activated, consistent with the mission outlined by the incident commander.