Crowd Management

Crowd Control Formations and Equipment

1. Protective equipment for law enforcement

   1. Gas masks

NOTE: Instructor should demonstrate procedure for use of the protective mask. Allow practice for putting on mask in class and later in formation drills.

1. Helmets

2. Goggles or visors

3. Body armor

4. Gloves

5. Shin guards

6. Boots

7. Shields

8. Groin protection-apply to both male and female officers

1. Show and use of force - use only the minimum force to effectively control the situation.

   1. Officer presence

   2. Batons/Shields

   3. Horses

   4. ) Dogs, used as resource protection versus crowd control

   5. Vehicles

   6. Chemical agents

   7. Special impact weapons systems

   8. Distraction devices

   9. Firearms

2. Initial officer/small agency response formations

Small agencies often do not have the resources of large agencies. As well, initial responding units, no matter the size of the agency, are often caught off guard by spontaneous crowd incidents. For these situations mini-formations much like the one used for the “Rapid Deployment to an Active Shooter” is the best option for officers in dealing with these situations in a tactically sound manner.

1. Initial response/mini-formations

   1. Use of basic cover-contact approach to begin building the formation

   2. Initial or point officer is the contact officer

      1. Advises other officers he/she is taking charge

      2. Does the talking

      3. Makes any order to disperse

      4. Makes the decision to effect an arrest. Remember we do not have to make the arrest today and she should only do this as a last resort.

   3. Second officer takes a cover position to the right or left of the contact officer and one pace back. This officer is responsible for watching the crowd for dangers and covering the point/contact officer.

   4. Third officer takes a position to the left or right of the contact/point officer and opposite of the second officer.

   5. Fourth officer takes a rear guard position, directly behind the contact/point officer, two paces directly behind the contact/point officer. This officer needs to be more flexible in them movements/actions to allow for the protection of the rear of the formation. They may also have to walk backwards.

Note: Team members must be told that the person walking backwards can only walk at half-pace, therefore movement of the formation must be at a slower pace.

1. This gives the initial responding officers 360-degree coverage for officer safety and allows officers to work as a team, instead of being spread throughout the crowd.

2. Supervisor/fifth arriving officer - the supervisor or fifth officer will assume a position in the center of the formation. She acts as a controlling mechanism to maintain the squad’s integrity and controls a prisoner in the event an arrest is made. She may also be used to deploy controlled burst of chemical/specialty munitions to help with withdrawal of the formation.

3. Additional responding units will form a diamond formation, with riot gear on in the event they are needed to assist the primary team. This may be necessary to help the initial units to withdraw, or to rescue them if necessary and to disperse the crowd if it is needed. This group must form up out of sight of the crowd, or they may incite them to become disruptive.

4. The four-officer diamond is an excellent formation for small agencies to use when dealing with crowds. All four officers can be placed in one mobile unit to respond, or use two units, with two officers each. This reduces the number of patrol vehicles needed and the number of potential units damaged, should rioters attack them.

1. Additional arriving units

These units should respond to an area close to the scene, but out of sight so as not to have too many officers on scene and possibly escalate the situation. While at the staging area these units should form their own mini-formations and prepare to:

1. Establish a safe withdrawal area should they have to move in and assist the primary team with withdrawal.

2. Prepare to enter the crowd if necessary with organized formations and protective and dispersal equipment.

3. Coordinate the isolation of the affected area.

4. Extract/cover withdrawal of initial team should the crowd become hostile and attack them.

5. Acts as a dispersal team should it become necessary to use force to break up the crowd.

1. Mini-formations

   1. Three officer wedge

   2. Four officer diamond

   3. Combining of two mini-formations into a basic 6 to 8-person squad

2. Additional uses of mini-formations

   1. Rescue teams

   2. Special arrest teams

   3. Special dispersal teams, utilizing chemical and or special impact munitions.

1. Larger riot control formations

NOTE: Show multiple slides, “Riot Control Formations” and refer to the handout section, “Formations, Commands and Movements.” Instructors are encouraged to provide copies of these slides to students for future reference.

The class should be broken down into squads and the formations practiced in an open area.

1. Squad - Not less than eight or more than twelve officers. One member should be designated as leader. Smaller units maybe used by smaller agencies, but units of less than four officers will not be very effective against large crowds. It is recommended they only be deployed in the diamond formation. When additional units arrive, two diamonds can be easily combined to form a basic eight-person squad.

2. Platoon - should consist of three or four squads. One officer should be designated as leader. Three platoons form one company.

3. Formations

The line, the echelon (right and left), the wedge, and the diamond; rapid and uniform response to commands is essential. An additional formation is the arrest circle, used to protect arresting officers and not crowd dispersal. In the arrest circle, officers are facing outwardly toward the crowd and not the arrest activity within the circle.

1. Vehicles - should be located where they can quickly maneuver to block oncoming vehicular assault on the riot formation.

1.