Keystone Kops

I don’t know how else to put this, but US cops are not very good.

They went in all gung-ho in the first wave of unrest in LA. I sort of got that, they wanted to show who was boss and don’t mess with us. However, the way they kept getting surrounded by protesters and then having to fight their way out with plastic bullets and tear gas, that shouldn’t happen at all.

For all the criticisms you might level against European police, they do seem to have some idea of strategy and tactics. They are the ones doing the surrounding and they stay in charge. The USAians appear poorly trained and incompetent by comparison. Not to mention the hyper-aggressive attitude, like berserkers. It’s as if they did a couple of lines before heading out.

The NoKings demonstrations were peaceful, amazingly so considering the vast numbers of people present. An MSNBC reporter was present, broadcasting about how there was no trouble, when the police suddenly, for no apparent reason, began firing at the crowd, causing the reporter and everybody else to scatter.

Then there was the time when the LAPD and the LASD decided to corral a group of demonstrators. But without any coordination. This resulted in the sheriffs opening fire on the police with rubber bullets. The police responded with tear gas against the unmasked sheriffs.

One thing was certain. The demonstrators were to blame for the injuries to all these officers.