A smelly solution to riots

I stayed up later than planned Thursday night into Friday morning, watching a mob attack Minneapolis’ 3rd police precinct building.

Earlier, at least five officers were seen on the roof, firing flash bangs (loud explosive devices) and tear gas. 

Sometime before 10 p.m., the mayor ordered police to abandon the precinct to the mob. To me, that was as shocking as if Texans had abandoned the Alamo. It was a surrender, but it was a strategy that I’ll discuss in a minute.

In addition to the precinct, several other buildings had been set ablaze, and MSNBC’s Ali Velshi reported from the ground that mobs prevented the fire department from reaching the blazes. 

As Velshi reported, there was no police presence at all and mixed in with the peaceful protestors with legitimate grievances were criminals taking advantage of the situation by looting stores and arson.

At 2 a.m., the mob controlled the streets and even Velshi wondered where the hell was anyone in authority.

There are, basically, two tactics in crowd control.

First is to confront the rioters, to take control of the streets, and to disperse them or take them into custody.

Second is to have the police stand down for fear that confrontation will provoke violence and lead to bloodshed. However, Minneapolis had the violence absent the provocation.

In Minneapolis, some in the crowd were armed with fireworks, which were shot off during the evening, plus bottles and rocks.

Friday morning, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz revealed that police moved in around 3:45 a.m. Friday and cleared the streets with no fatalities. By that time, the only ones on the streets were trouble makers.

My feeling is that you don’t let a mob control the streets, and especially you don’t abandon a police station.

Why did the authorities do that?

My educated guess is the mayor felt if he ordered police to hold the precinct, if rioters were busting through the windows and doors, cops would have been forced to shoot them.

That would have led to deaths and a huge publicity black eye.

What else could the cops have done?

Tear gas doesn’t work all that well because professional protestors often have gas masks and it is subject to winds. Rubber bullets and bean bags can accidentally kill.

Police dogs are extremely effective, but they recall memories of southern sheriffs using them against civil rights marchers, something that has given German shepherds a bad reputation among some African-Americans that lasts until today.

Here’s my idea: Bring in the water cannon.

Fill it not with water, but with sewage. If you don’t want to handle or shoot sewage, use a chemical with a very foul odor, like hydrogen sulfide. Spray the rioters and watch them scatter. They will smell so bad they’ll speed home to jump in the shower.

The technology exists. For several years, Israel has used a nonlethal hand grenade named Skunk.

Skunk’s odor is so overwhelming, it was reported, it drives rioters or insurgents away — and they will stay away. In an escalating riot, Skunk could be unleashed to bring it to an immediate halt.

Saving both the cops, and their precinct.