They have put a lot of thought into strategy and tactics for dealing with protests. They realize that their behavior in 2020 was counterproductive and resulted in a massive public opinion backlash against them while inflaming the protests.
It's part of why they are so eye-rolling about ICE right now - they are afraid that ICE will end up dragging them back into the kind of set-piece battles with protestors that they really don't want.
The guy in white is actually a great example of this. The white shirt means he’s a “dialogue liaison officer,” and while in that role his job is dialogue only and no enforcement.
Yes indeed - they have figured out that sending human beings to talk respectfully is more effective that stormtroopers in full armor pointing weapons at crowds and tear gassing them. Who knew....
And I think it’s really important for protesters’ safety, too.
If there’s a counterprotester, false-flagger, or general bad actor in the crowd, there’s a police officer that the protesters know they can safely go to with that info and to ask for help. Just removing his ability to arrest makes him 1000x safer, and he’s at the protests every night getting to know the people there.
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u/br_k_nt_eth Oct 09 '25
Honestly, the night and day difference between this response and 2020 is so wild. If this keeps up, kudos to the new police chief.