Oakland P.D. on How Not to Handle a PR Crisis
“Do they all come in here and cry, your cops? They signed up to use their weapon, well most of them. They’ve just watched enough TV to know they’re supposed to weep after they use their weapons. There is no one more full of shit than a cop.”
– Leonardo DiCaprio as undercover cop Billy, in The Departed.
After watching the viral video of an Oakland, CA policeman nonchalantly tossing explosive devices into an “Occupy” protest, two things came to mind. The first was the above scene from Martin Scorsese’s 2006 film about police corruption in Boston. DiCaprio, in a mandatory session with the police department’s therapist, is reacting incredulously to her naivete over the motivation behind the use of weapons in the line of duty.
The second was the frivolous approach of many in my profession to incidents surrounding the Occupy Wall Street movement. From the nonsense written by some commentators, I suspect that if caught between demonstrators and police, many PR folks’ first impulse would be to yell: “Cut! — No more rocks or tear gas until each of you gets his message points straight!”
Obviously they’re missing the point. The message is loud and clear on both sides.
For demonstrators from Wall Street to Oakland, Occupy Wall Street is, as activist David Graeber says, the voice of “a new generation of Americans, a generation who are looking forward to finishing their education with no jobs, no future, but still saddled with enormous and unforgivable debt.” He adds, “Is it really surprising they would like to have a word with the financial magnates who stole their future?” Strong words.
Up until very recently, the message and actions of law enforcement have been marked by admirable self-restraint: ensuring that demonstrators’ exercise of the rights to assembly and free speech don’t cross the line into chaos that threatens life and property.
Unfortunately, for every rotten apple who undermines these rights by burning tires, overturning cars and smashing shop windows, there is a counterpart in riot gear whose actions stain the reputation of law enforcement. On both sides of the barricades, these are the guys who “sign up” so they can use their weapons, be they rocks, Glochs or stun grenades.
In Oakland, one such perp was the lone cop caught on camera throwing an explosive device into a crowd of protesters coming to the aid of Scott Olsen, struck in the head moments before by another Oakland P.D. bomb. The video shows the officer almost casually moving toward the barricade and tossing the second grenade, then slipping back behind his colleagues to escape notice. Talk about damning evidence. Upping volatility of the incident, Olsen turned out to be a Marine who’d survived two tours of combat duty in Iraq only to come home and get his skull fractured in a peace demonstration.
The official response: The Oakland P.D. said that law officers reacted with force after demonstrators began pummeling them with rocks. Both the P.D. and the mayor said no formal complaint had been lodged but that they planned an investigation into police conduct. A mayoral press conference offering a formal apology to Olsen and his family might have been more appropriate, for starters. Followed by immediate identification and suspension of the bomb-throwing police officer.
As it is, not only the offending act itself but now the stone-walling by public officials have made a hero out of Olsen and drawn popular sympathy and support from average Americans who previously didn’t give a hoot about the Occupy movement.
Several people associated with the Oakland Occupy group have come forward to disavow the actions of so-called demonstrators who broke the law that night. Why can’t the city be that forthcoming — and smart?
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