Riot Revisited: IN THE AFTERMATH OF CIVIL UNREST, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS COMMISSION AN INDEPENDENT AFTER-ACTION INVESTIGATION
CASE STUDY
In the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, protests and other acts of civil unrest surged across the country. One local police department found itself challenged to respond as a racial justice protest swept across town. While peaceful protests were organized, violence later erupted as rioters vandalized and looted businesses and private properties.
The Problem
In the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, protests and other acts of civil unrest surged across the country. One local police department found itself challenged to respond as a racial justice protest swept across town. While peaceful protests were organized, violence later erupted as rioters vandalized and looted businesses and private properties. During the incident, several police officers and civilians were injured. A few weeks later, city leaders asked us to undertake an objective and independent review of the local police department’s planning and response to this incident as well as its ability to handle future such events.
The Solution
We conducted an after-action review of the city’s response to the protests and riots with a special focus on pre-incident planning, incident response and post-incident follow-up. Our work was guided in part by the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) as well as best practices in critical areas such as de-escalation, crowd control, communications with the public, and protection of First Amendment rights.
The Results
Our review revealed incredible restraint by officers, business owners and the community at large in response to the violent and destructive behavior of some individuals. We found that police dispatchers did an exemplary job of remaining calm and performing their duties under extremely stressful and dangerous conditions. We also determined that the department had struggled in several key areas. These included (1) a properly centralized command and an effective incident communications plan, (2) incident response plans sufficiently detailed to support an appropriate police response, (3) a formal intelligence gathering and reporting process, (4) crowd-control training for officers, (5) adherence to NIMS and ICS guidelines, and (6) a use of force policy that reflects current best practices. Since receiving our report, the city and department have begun to review and implement many of the actions we recommended so they are more prepared for a comparable event in the future.
Get in Touch
Insights
Read the latest challenges facing the industry.
What sets us apart
Find out what makes us different.
Global presence, local reach
We have more than 90 offices worldwide.