DNC Evaluation

All sorts of praise from the media types, who still can't let go of 1968:

• Yes, there were complaints the four-day event was over-policed, but that may have seemed the case because fewer protesters showed up than some had predicted. Even so, the demonstrators were able to send their messages out to the nation.

  Overall, it was a far cry from the so-called “police riot” at Chicago’s 1968 Democratic National Convention. The answer to the question, “Can we finally put 1968 behind us this time, when the Democrats’ 1996 convention went smoothly and everyone seemed to forget it?” seems to be a strong yes.

We put it behind us after 1996. And NATO. And a few other large events that didn't garner any sort of bad optics. The cops from 1968 were pretty much gone when 1996 rolled around - kind of how everyone who ever served under Burge had long retired when the lawsuits appeared. Burge and 1968 were bogeymen, brought out to scare little children and pussified democrats. It was the media, specifically the Slum Times, publishing pieces from Bill Kurtis and Sneed and others about reporting the 1968 convention and they all had their leftist slant going. Fuck them one and all. 

Anyway, the whole thing went pretty well. We'd probably give it a C-plus up to a B-minus. Obviously, some thing could have been done better, but name us an event that couldn't have. The big thing moving forward is what lessons were learned and will those lessons be applied properly to future events.

PLUS - Larritorious was out on the front lines, when no one had been since McCarthy at NATO. Good to see him there, even if it was just for show.  Larry participated - again, so did Phil Cline on New Years Eve - so real or not, it was good to see.

PLUS - the Bikes were awesome. The mass arrests teams and processing, while minimally used, seemed to go of without a hitch. Administratively, it seemed to work well. Anyone who knows different, comment away, but the lack of complaints tells us something already.

PLUS - Most everyone got fed (aside from the expired and moldy sandwiches one night) and we didn't hear that restroom facilities were unavailable when needed. Stuff like that can always be improved.

MINUS - the planning and information sharing was lackluster. We're told via various sources at 35th Street that the order wasn't even sent to lower level exempts until three days before, assignments were vague and haphazard, no one knew what platoons were assigned to what supervisor, and even personnel changes were seat-of-the-pants due to certain ::ahem:: chosen ones being exempted from street duty.

Speaking of information, we have it from a few federal sources that correspond with us that they were not happy with how Command staff seemed to have no idea what was going on. They were happy with the zones of separation because it gave them plausible deniability (and a scapegoat) if outer perimeter breaches occurred. Thankfully those were minimal.

And -- information again - the cancellation of the cancellations on the final day. It couldn't have been that difficult to make the decision while everyone was still awake. And it shouldn't have been that difficult to arrange an unloading area where equipment could be sorted a bit more neatly than being tossed on the grass or tarmac at an unsecured site.

PLUS - the intermediate supervision - sergeants, lieutenants and even a few captains, was exceptional, and if Larritorious is smart, he ought to be building on that from this point forward for any future mass deployment issues. Find the guys and gals who got it done because of - or in spite of - the haphazard plan. Those are the people who should be thanked. Larry might be the face of the Department, but good leaders always direct the praise downward. It builds a lot of good will, and good will can be cashed in later.

PLUS - after numerous tents staffed by IAD and COPA were out there to accept any and all complaints about butt-hurt feelings, CWB says there were only eight complaints filed. Eight? Holy Crap. Back in '68, they were doing eighteen and more per hour. The restraint speaks volumes, hopefully good, and not because anyone was backing off.

UNKNOWN - the media was predicting upwards of 50,000 protestors. Permits and press releases hinted at a big turnout. Our estimates and those of our colleagues in the aftermath was probably less than 5,000. Actual trouble makers? Probably under 300.

We got lucky....or we got played. 

We were "line of march" at NATO and there were more than plenty of black bloc and panti-fa jags all over the place and well into the nighttime hours. We didn't see them in any significant numbers at all, and from what we heard and saw, neither did anyone else. The cynical side of us says they were told to stay away or stand down lest it reflect badly on the Koronation of Kamala. We hate being cynical.

Hopefully, when it's all said and done, this is a starting point for a better response to big events and not a high-water mark for someone to look back on and wonder what happened in the intervening years.