Police Brutality: Capitol Riots and Protests for a Change

By: Titan Vision and Lila Butterworth

The situation: What should you know?

On Wednesday, January 6, Trump supporters stormed the capitol. It was a destructive sight, and a woman died in the chaos. The pro-trump rioters claimed election fraud and denied democracy, which unfortunately led to a disagreement that left an unsettling feeling to viewers who wondered how such a thing could happen. During the chaos, some rioters got through all security and entered the capitol building with Capitol police showing little to no offense. For others on the way, protective barriers used to hold rioters back were nothing but a brief delay as they quickly got past them. Armed with metal bars and even tear gas, gaining access to the Capitol was no longer a dream, but a reality. A reality that wouldn’t be possible without the weak response of the Capitol police.

In contrast, protests took place in the year 2020, sparked by the death of George Floyd. George Floyd was a victim of police brutality, who had been arrested based on a report of him using a counterfeit $20 bill. During this arrest, an officer kneeled on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, causing him to lose consciousness and shortly after die. Videos were released, showing him begging the officer to stop, informing the officer that he couldn’t breathe, and despite all this, nothing changed. In the beginning, they were riots with cars and buildings being lit on fire, however, things de-escalated over time. Unfortunately, police officers around the nation showed no mercy this time. What states could not do during earlier riots, they did then. Curfews were set, and police attacked innocent protesters with teargas, batons, and pepper spray. Videos on social media show police officers using vehicles as well, knocking down and pushing back protesters, causing potential injuries. 

So what’s the problem?

These are different situations, and so we need to understand when excessive force is appropriate. The rioters at the Capitol openly threatened the safety of many, using tear gas and metal bars, aggressively and unstably. With them, the police held back and struggled to gain control of the situation. Some even opened gates for protesters and took selfies with them. Not to mention the fact that people were openly planning this protest on social media. That should have given capitol security a hint that they should prepare for this onslaught. 

With the protesters regarding police brutality and BLM, the police showed the very force that the protesters were against. By threatening the protesters and their freedom of speech, the police only made matters worse and weren't acting rationally. In summary, BLM protesters protest social justice and are met with tear gas and rubber bullets, meanwhile, a mob of white trump supporters try to stage a coup and take over the Capitol, and have the gates opened for them by the police. If this isn’t an example of racism, what is?  

Potential solutions

In two separate situations, officers failed to work effectively despite taking opposite approaches.  For future reference, I’ve come up with ways that the conflicts could’ve been avoided.

The Capitol: They made it clear weeks before January 6th that something was openly being planned to take place at the Capitol. I mentioned before that rioters passed their defenses easily, so let’s start with that. The Capitol police can work on some self-restraint. What I mean by that is it appeared as some were assisting the rioters personally rather than completing their jobs.

BLM Protests: Protests should be planned out more efficiently. What I mean by this is rather than simply deciding a time and place to protest and how to advertise it, police forces and protesters should work together. It’s the police’s job to maintain order and protect the citizens, so they should escort and observe the protests rather than confront them. Maybe also have routes that the city could afford to be temporarily blocked, but still get the point of the protest across. If the police officers maintain order with the approval of the protesters to maintain peace, riots can be avoided.  They shouldn’t let opinions impede them from making decisive decisions. In this situation, however, there may be some tension between the protesters and officers because the protests were about police failing to protect the people, but both parties should be open-minded and consider what the other one is going through. Police officers shouldn’t act on anger because their job is to protect people and maintain peace to the best of their abilities. their personal beliefs shouldn’t affect how they do their job. If protests get out of hand, or violence happens, then the police should step in, but without excessive force, because you don’t fight fire with fire. 

Conclusion

We can consider multiple reasons police officers attacked innocent protesters while others were lenient towards violent rioters, but unless they’re able to assess a situation properly, they are not capable of the responsibility that comes with their power. This situation also forces us to ask some questions such as, what if the capitol rioters were black? What would’ve happened differently? How would the police react to this? Based on the police reaction to the peaceful BLM protests, it’s pretty safe to assume that it would be a lot worse. What do you think? 

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For more detailed information on the Capitol attack: https://sites.google.com/ms447.org/the-wolf-press/storm-of-the-capitol

For more information on the protests regarding police brutality:

https://sites.google.com/ms447.org/the-wolf-press/editorial-and-opinion/violent-protests