[StBernard] Police prepare for unrest

[Westley Annis]

I can almost bet on this. I've preached for months about civil unrest
whether McCain or O-BLAH-mah wins. Certainly, I don't have to explain why,
but as an example, I've seen civil riots occur for much less. This includes
riots nationwide due to MLK's demise, Sports winning/losing's, or just to
have a night out with the boyz.

I can't say it will be mostly be enacted by whites this past century,
because whites have joined the boyz this past 25 years as music, sports and
entertainment has changed the landscape and attitudes (especially in the
hoods of cities as compared to rural areas). 

It will happen and we can expect overturned cars and torching in celebration
or vengeance. Let's wait and see.

Then, the good stuff begins if O-Blah-Mah pulls it off. More
government/Court precedents and bias than we've seen any time in our
country's history. I've heard one minority recently proclaim, "We gonna have
a good life" when Obama is prez!". Again, the wrong black at the wrong time
in history. I would love to see former Steelers football star, Lynn Swann
any day than this socialist, O-Blah-Mah. God, is America headed on a
tailspin?

--jer--

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Police prepare for unrest
by Alexander Bolton 
10/21/08

Police departments in cities across the country are beefing up their ranks
for Election Day, preparing for possible civil unrest and riots after the
historic presidential contest.

Public safety officials said in interviews with The Hill that the election,
which will end with either the nations first black president or its first
female vice president, demanded a stronger police presence.

Some worry that if Barack Obama loses and there is suspicion of foul play in
the election, violence could ensue in cities with large black populations.
Others based the need for enhanced patrols on past riots in urban areas
(following professional sports events) and also on Internet rumors.

Democratic strategists and advocates for black voters say they understand
officers wanting to keep the peace, but caution that excessive police
presence could intimidate voters.

Sen. Obama (Ill.), the Democratic nominee for president, has seen his lead
over rival Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) grow in recent weeks, prompting
speculation that there could be a violent backlash if he loses unexpectedly.

Cities that have suffered unrest before, such as Detroit, Chicago, Oakland
and Philadelphia, will have extra police deployed.

In Oakland, the police will deploy extra units trained in riot control, as
well as extra traffic police, and even put SWAT teams on standby.

Are we anticipating it will be a riot situation? No. But will we be prepared
if it goes awry? Yes, said Jeff Thomason, spokesman for the Oakland Police
Department.

I think it is a big deal you got an African-American running and [a] woman
running, he added, in reference to Obama and GOP vice presidential nominee
Sarah Palin. Whoever wins it, it will be a national event. We will have more
officers on the street in anticipation that things may go south.

The Oakland police last faced big riots in 2003 when the Raiders lost to the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl. Officials are bracing themselves in
case residents of Oakland take Obamas loss badly.

Political observers such as Hilary Shelton and James Carville fear that
record voter turnout could overload polling places on Election Day and could
raise tension levels.

Shelton, the director of the NAACPs Washington bureau, said inadequate
voting facilities is a bigger problem in poor communities with large numbers
of minorities.

What are local election officials doing to prepare for what people think
will be record turnout at the polls? said Shelton, who added that during the
2004 election in Ohio voters in predominantly black communities had to wait
in line six to eight hours to vote.

On Election Day, if this continues, you may have some tempers flare; we
should be prepared to deal with that but do it without intimidation, said
Shelton, who added that police have to be able to maintain order at polling
stations without scaring voters, especially immigrants from police states.

{mospagebreak}Carville, who served as a senior political adviser to former
President Bill Clinton, said that many Democrats would be very angry if
Obama loses. He noted that many Democrats were upset by Sen. John Kerrys
(D-Mass.) loss to President Bush in the 2004 election, when some Democrats
made allegations of vote manipulation in Ohio, the state that ultimately
decided the race.

Experts estimated that thousands of voters did not vote in Ohio because of
poor preparation and long lines.

Carville said Democratic anger in 2004 would be very small to what would
happen in 2008 if the same problems arose.

Carville said earlier this month that it would be very, very, very dramatic
out there if Obama lost, a statement some commentators interpreted as
predicting riots. In an interview Tuesday, however, Carville said he did not
explicitly predict rioting.

A lot of Democrats would have a great deal of angst and anger, said
Carville, who predicted that on Election Day the voting system all around
the country is going to be very stressed because there's going to be
enormous turnout.

Other commentators have made such bold predictions.

If [Obama] is elected, like with sports championships, people may go out and
riot, said Bob Parks, an online columnist and black Republican candidate for
state representative in Massachusetts. If Barack Obama loses there will be
another large group of people who will assume the election was stolen from
him.. This will be an opportunity for people who want to commit mischief.

Speculation about Election-Day violence has spread on the Internet,
especially on right-wing websites.

This has caught the attention of police departments in cities such as
Cincinnati, which saw race riots in 2001 after police shot a young black
man.

Weve seen it on the Internet and weve heard that there could be civil unrest
depending on the outcome of [the election,] said Lt. Mark Briede of the
Cincinnati Police Department. We are prepared to respond in the case of some
sort of unrest or some sort of incident.

Briede, like other police officials interviewed, declined to elaborate on
plans for Election Day. Many police departments have policies prohibiting
public discussion of security plans.

James Tate, second deputy chief of Detroits police department, said extra
manpower would be assigned to duty on Election Night. He said problems could
flare whichever candidate wins.

Either party will make history and we want to prepare for celebrations that
will be on a larger scale than for our sports teams, Tate said.

He noted that police had to control rioters who overturned cars after the
Tigers won the 1984 World Series.

Were prepared for the best-case scenario, were prepared for the worst-case
scenario, he said. The worst-case scenario could be a situation that
requires law enforcement.

But Tate declined to describe what the worst-case scenario might look like,
speaking gingerly like other police officials who are wary of implying that
black voters are more likely than other voting groups to cause trouble.

Shelton, of the NAACP, said he understands the need for police to maintain
order. But he is also concerned that some political partisans may point
their finger at black voters as potential troublemakers because the
Democratic nominee is black.

Shelton said any racial or ethnic group would get angry if they felt
disenfranchised because of voting irregularities.

Police officials in Chicago, where Obama will hold a Nov. 4 rally, and
Philadelphia are also preparing for Election Day.

The Chicago Police Department has been meeting regularly to coordinate our
safety and security plans and will deploy our resources accordingly, said
Monique Bond, of the Chicago Police Department.

Frank Vanore, of the Philadelphia Police Department, said officials were
planning to mobilize to control exuberant or perhaps angry demonstrations
after the World Series, which pits the Phillies against the Tampa Bay Rays.

He said the boosted police activity would spill right over to the election.