Capitol, where he watched the protest morph into a riot.
That, he said, was on display at the U.S. “The differences we’re seeing in use of force are the political stripes of those who are being policed,” said Brian Griffey, a researcher and adviser at Amnesty International. Amnesty International has accused police of failing to prevent violence when those two sides clash in the streets. Researchers have found that police have been less likely to step in or use force in those protests, whose participants often identify themselves as being on law enforcement’s side. That experience prompted a soul-searching among some police officers and law enforcement officials that continued as they faced protests from the other end of the political spectrum: right-wing Americans angry with the anti-police demonstrators, along with pandemic lockdowns and Trump’s loss. National Guard stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as demonstrators participate in a peaceful protest against police brutality and the death of George Floyd, on June 2, 2020, in Washington. Revelations that Wednesday’s rioters included military veterans and police officers have exacerbated feelings of disparate treatment.Īnd to law enforcement officials, researchers and consultants who are trying to help American police change, the Capitol fiasco was a stark reminder that police still have a ways to go to adapt to a new era of protests. Some pointed to the brutal treatment of many Black Lives Matter protesters in cities across the country after the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis - including the forced removal of peaceful protesters near the White House to make way for a Trump photo-op - and the more measured response to groups of white people who protested Covid-19 lockdown orders. To Black activists, civil rights advocates and many Democrats - including President-elect Joe Biden - the police response reflected law enforcement’s long history of giving white people passes for behavior that would result in beatings or death if done by people of color. To them, the debacle showed that, no matter how they reacted to a mass demonstration, whether with too much force or too little, they would always be criticized. To many officers and their supporters on the right, the Capitol Police’s performance showed how passive police have become in the face of a reform movement that aims to curtail their use of force.