Riot practice sharpens officers for ‘what if?’

An ROTC volunteer covers up as he is subdued by squad members.

Lines of law officers fire beanbags, rubber bullets and pellets of pepper in retaliatory strikes against a mob of angry students railing against authority.

As the two crowds converge, a canister of gas is let off, smoking up an alleyway and sending the rioters running off in disarray.

Full disclosure: this was not an actual clash between law enforcement and protestors, it was, in fact, the annual training session for the regional riot squad.

Law officers from Whitman, Latah and Nez Perce counties, along with the cities of Pullman, Moscow and Lewiston and Washington State University, gathered for the training session at the Palouse Empire Fairgrounds last Thursday, April 8.

Decked out in full riot padding, with catcher’s shin guards protecting their legs, padding over their torsos and helmets with shields guarding their faces, the officers took on a team of university ROTC members assaulting them with tennis balls and bottles of water.

“This is kind of our riot season,” said Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers. “Between now and graduation is the prime time as far as tensions on campus. Nobody wants to riot in January. It’s too cold. It’s just no fun.”

Myers said while the region has not seen a riot in over a decade, officers need to be trained in riot-suppression techniques in case chaos does break out in the streets.

“It’s always best to be prepared, because you never know when something like that is going to happen,” said Myers.

A full blown riot broke out on the Washington State University campus in the spring of 1999.

“Since then we have planned and prepared every year about this time and kept equipment staged down in that area in the event that a quicker response is needed,” said Myers.

Training in proper crowd control techniques is vital to ensuring that doesn’t happen again, said Myers.

“Obviously our tactics have changed over the past decade,” he said. “Not only with our own experience, but especially with what happened during the WTO (World Trade Organization) riots.”

He added events in the Quad Cities region, not only at the universities but also at events like Lewiston’s Hot August Nights concert series, call for preparation.

“There are three or four events or time frames year round just in Quad Cities area that there could be the potential need for riot teams,” said Myers. “Nothing has escalated to riot stage, partly because of the presence of law enforcement, but the potential is there. And we want to make sure we’re prepared.”