What is kettling? Here's a look into the usage and history of the controversial police tactic
Amid recent protests, some law enforcement authorities across the country have used aggressive crowd dispersal techniques and policing tactics, such as kettling — a controversial tactic where officers surround demonstrators to corral them before making arrests.
Over the past few weeks, protesters in cities around the U.S. have poured onto the streets in the wake of the killings of Black Americans — including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Rayshard Brooks — to demand action on cases of police brutality and systemic racism.
With these demonstrations has come increased visibility of some forceful police practices.
Here's what you need to know about kettling.
What is 'kettling' and why is it controversial?
Kettling is a crowd-control technique used by the police. Also known as "trap and detain," it involves officers surrounding protesters to corral them before making arrests.
Some law enforcement experts argue, however, that this kind of use of force can cause tensions to rise.
According to University of Iowa sociology professor Bodi Vasi, without concerted effort, violence at protests can become self-perpetuating.
Vasi studied the role of social media in the Occupy Wall Street movement, specifically. His research found that perceptions of unjustified force used against peaceful protesters would lead to more protests — and with them, more use of force.
"The vast majority of police and protesters have good intentions," Vasi said. "It only takes a small number of people with bad intentions to create instability, which is then amplified when you don't have proper communication channels."
At a protest Monday in Des Moines, for example, witnesses and protesters say a crowd was not rowdy until police closed in on the group.
After protests in the city, activists argued that kettling infringes on First Amendment rights and is an example of police violence towards demonstrators.
What happened in Des Moines and was 'kettling' used?
During Monday protests, eyewitnesses told the Des Moines Register, part of the USA TODAY Network, that they saw police push, pepper spray, beat and arrest protesters who tried to comply with police orders.
"There are credible accounts of police action in violation of the constitutional guarantee of free speech, including 'kettling' and the use of excessive force on nonviolent protesters including a child, media and a legal observer," ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis Austen said in a statement.
"There was no violence from the protesters. The violence was from police only," added Sally Frank of the National Lawyers Guild, a human rights defense group. "By the time the dispersal order was audible, everyone was on the sidewalk, but police moved in.
"Some people were dispersing and were chased, and other people weren't given the opportunity, and were grabbed within seconds."
Matthew Bruce, a leader of Black Lives Matter Des Moines who led a group of 150 people in a march Monday, explained how kettling didn't allow protesters the freedom to move.
"They were literally like, 'Y'all got to get out of the street,'" Bruce said. "We said, 'Where are we supposed to go? We're surrounded.' The answer was pretty much, 'to jail.'"
Sgt. Paul Parizek, a spokesman for Des Moines police, did not directly respond to questions about protester behavior Monday night.
"Our position has been clear from the beginning," Parizek said. "Peaceful protest is welcome and supported, but disorderly conduct, disruption of peaceful neighborhoods, and destruction of property has an expiration date. It won’t be allowed to continue."
Where else has kettling been used and where did it originate?
In addition to Des Moines, kettling has recently been reported in New York; Washington, D.C.; and other cities with protests following the Memorial Day death of George Floyd.
But the aggressive practice is nothing new. A class-action lawsuit filed in St. Louis last fall alleged that St. Louis police kettled more than 100 protesters in 2017.
According to BBC News, many believe England's 1984 Battle of Orgreave was the first example of kettling — but its roots could trace even further back.
Other legal action has been taken in recent years to combat kettling, but varying precedent makes the issue complicated.
Following the police's employment of kettling on protesters at President Donald Trump's 2017 inauguration in Washington, the American Civil Liberties Union sued D.C., Metropolitan Police Department officers and the police chief for allegedly making unconstitutional arrests and using excessive force. The case is ongoing.
Activists in recent protests raise alarm about harms of kettling during pandemic
In addition to civil rights activists, political leaders and public health officials have recently been vocal about the dangers of kettling during George Floyd protests.
On June 2, when New York protesters were trapped on Manhattan Bridge, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez D-N.Y., tweeted, "No, this is dangerous," before heading to the bridge.
Others have stressed the added harm during the time of COVID-19.
“The police tactics — the kettling, the mass arrests, the use of chemical irritants — those are completely opposed to public health recommendations,” Malika Fair, director of Public Health Initiatives at the Association of American Medical Colleges, told Politico.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kettling explained: Police tactic used in Black Lives Matter protests
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