LA Is Burning—And Weak Leaders Are Letting It Happen

The LA Riots

How Police Should Respond

I have repeatedly stated that when it comes to political commentary, I’m a rookie compared to the talking heads on the news and periodicals, but when it comes to the so-called “peaceful protests” and police response, this one is in my wheelhouse. The pundits and politicians talking about this have no idea what they’re giving an opinion on. They shouldn’t try to do our job, but they will. While advising you on an appropriate police response, I’ll also elaborate on my expertise in this area and cross over into the political realm, as the two are not mutually exclusive.

After the 1980 McDuffy Riots in Miami, a new method of responding to civil unrest (riots) had to be conceived. Miami Police and my department, Metro-Dade at the time, now Miami-Dade (MDPD), simultaneously and separately began developing a new response model, which was dubbed Mobile Field Force (MFF), with the term actually coined by Miami. Over the years, the concept grew, and we at MDPD continued to enhance, change, add, delete, and modify the concept, and took it to a level that, and this isn’t bragging (maybe just a little), was to become the national model for crowd-control response. We became known as the Fathers of Mobile Field Force. How do I know that we are considered the industry leader in this? Because over the years, many agencies have sent their personnel to observe, train, and learn from us, adopting and implementing the concepts that worked best for their jurisdictions. 

I am a third-generation MFF instructor and spent 18 years on the Training Committee, becoming one of the lead instructors in MFF training and response. I learned from great mentors and worked with the finest, most dedicated group of sergeants and lieutenants who never rested on their laurels, but stood on the shoulders of giants who originated the concept. 

The Response

So what is the proper response to these “demonstrations?” The responding platoons of officers, led by a lieutenant and a group of sergeants, will deploy in what is called a Phalanx or Line. That’s the line of officers holding shields, batons, and wearing what’s termed riot gear; carrying a variety of weapons and tools, including chemical agents, with specialized positions carrying rifles, and squads of arrest teams solely dedicated to arresting protestors. The integrity of the Line must never be broken; it holds in place or moves as an entire group, pushing back or engaging the crowd, and there should never be individual battles and skirmishes taking place between officers and rioters. We maintain our strength-in-numbers by staying together. 

For you history buffs, this is the same formation used by the Spartans and Greeks, and when executed properly, it is unbreakable. The Spartans believed that a city isn’t defended by a wall, but a man’s chest. 

However, what we saw time and time again throughout these engagements, including the “Summer of Love” in 2020, when there were 574 “peaceful protests”, was that many disorganized agency responses, in which control of their particular protests was lost. This is not acceptable and the politicians, chiefs, and sheriffs are to blame, not the officers. 

The Peaceful Protestors

I’ll be quick on this one. THEY ARE NOT PEACEFUL! Most of them are not from Los Angeles. They are shipped in, paid, fed, and housed just to wreak havoc wherever the current political winds blow them and the Leftist machine directs them. Here in Miami, we’ve seen this time and time again. The Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) in 2003, and the 2016 presidential debate at Miami-Dade College between Trump and Clinton, where I and other MFF instructors personally interviewed participants who stated they didn’t really know why they were there, but were paid and bussed in just to demonstrate. We saw it again in 2020, downtown Miami, where my son BJ was deployed and spoke with some of the demonstrators. Same response. So no, they are neither mostly from LA nor peaceful.  

Deadly Force Situations

What we are seeing with the LA Riots is complete chaos, and there isn’t anything peaceful about it whatsoever. Protestors are throwing rocks, bottles, bottles with frozen water, blocks of concrete, and buckets of human excrement (they collect it and throw it at police as they tried in Miami during the 2003 FTAA). And then there are Molotov Cocktails, bottles filled with gasoline with a fuse that’s lit and then thrown at police. Any idea what that does when it hits its intended target? Google it and you’ll see, it will ruin your weekend. All of this is considered deadly force against police. You know what our orders in 2003 were if a protester tossed a cocktail at us? Shoot his ass! Deadly force against us gets you deadly force back in spades. Don’t want to get shot? Don’t try to kill us, it’s that simple. But we had the backing of the politicians and our command staff; huge difference!

Currently in Los Angeles, we’re seeing much of the same tactics by the “protestors,” and some of the same ineffective police responses used in other parts of the country. Does LAPD have our MFF model to use? Yes, they do, but as a major agency, they developed their own response, and sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. But not through the fault of the officers, it is the commanders who decide how to respond. And while we’re talking about response, the National Guard and Marines are not usually trained to respond to crowd control/riots/civil unrest. Their main job is to kill the enemy, but I understand why President Trump sent them in. He cannot allow LA to burn, again, and this will take me into the political crossover, so strap in. 

The police can only respond in any capacity if their commanders allow them to do so. In turn, those commanders can only issue orders on what to do or not do when authorized by their chief, director, commissioner, or sheriff, and here lies the problem with the LAPD. Their chief, Jim McDonnell, works at the pleasure of the mayor, Karen Bass, and we’ve already seen how she deflects all responsibility and blames ICE and the president for the riots…I mean the peaceful protests that seem to be on fire everywhere. Chief McDonnell, though he may be well-intentioned, I don’t know if he’s a good leader or not, but you can poll the officers’ union to find out, won’t go against the mayor’s orders for fear of losing his job. He hasn’t issued orders for his officers to defend themselves with deadly force because, as we’ve already seen, concrete blocks are being thrown into the windshields of LAPD Black & Whites while occupied and driving, with no retaliation by officers. How do you think those officers feel? 

The state’s elected officials, Governor Gavin Newsom, Mayor Karen Bass, and others have completely neglected their duty to the public, and the sole responsibility for the safety of Angelinos rests with them. They give orders to the police chiefs, and if not followe,d threaten them with their jobs; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. What did Mayor Bass do with the LA fire chief during the wildfires? She fired the chief when the heat got too intense because she needed a scapegoat. The same could happen to Chief McDonnell if too many fingers are pointed at Bass. 

What I’ve laid out is how police should be allowed to respond to civil unrest situations when the cities and counties are burning, property is being destroyed, citizens are in danger, and the lives of our police officers are threatened. I’ll bet some in police circles will say, “He’s only a sergeant, what does he know?” Exactly, only a sergeant who was one of the boots-on-the-ground and trained thousands for exactly this situation. My ass was on the line along with the other instructors and officers, not the commanders or politicians. Listen or don’t listen, your call. 

In the end, whatever happens in LA or now New York, and possibly starting another Summer of Love around the country, the legal voters are ultimately responsible for the leaders they elect, no one else. Californians, if you keep sending these people to office, then you, and I hate to say it, but I will, deserve what you get. I’ll stay in Florida and enjoy my peace and quiet. Thanks Ron!