minority of those who are influenced can cause serious confusion, destruction, and injury for everyone else. Because riots can be hard to predict and even harder to stop, it is prudent to pay careful attention to what is going on around you whenever you are part of a large crowd. Even if you sense the mood change, catch a glimpse of the opening acts, and see what’s coming, it can be very hard to force your way through the press of bodies and escape to safety.
A panicked crowd is just a dangerous, if not more so, than a riotous mob. When someone believes that there is imminent danger and flees in panic, his actions can spark fear in others who act accordingly. This fear can be initiated by actions from others, such as setting off a bomb or discharging a firearm, and may be exacerbated by environmental factors, such as flooding, smoke, fire, or tear gas. It gets even worse if there are limited escape routes, blocked exits, or other factors that lead to desperation where people begin fighting each other to clear a path so that they can get away. Think about all the people who have been crushed to death at nightclubs, concerts, or sporting events when crowds got out of control.
In general, there are two divergent goals when it comes to dealing with riotous mobs. If you are a civilian concerned about self-defense, your goal will be to escape to safety, remaining anonymous, and avoiding as much of the conflict as possible in the process. You will move away from the danger. If you are a law enforcement officer or security professional, however, your goal will be to minimize injuries and prevent property damage by managing the crowd to the extent possible. Your job requires that you move toward the danger. Since this book is primarily aimed at civilians, we’ll address self-protection and tactics rather than crowd control techniques here. The following guidelines can help keep you safe in a crowd.
• Recognize that riots can materialize unexpectedly — Almost any incident involving people and emotion can trigger a violent disturbance, particularly when alcohol or other intoxicants are thrown into the mix. The situation may ignite suddenly with very little warning. Maintain a higher than normal level of situational awareness when navigating crowds, identifying and evading potential sources of trouble to the extent practicable. Diligent observation can protect you not only from violence but also from more mundane threats like pickpockets. Be constantly aware of cover, concealment, and potential escape routes as you move about in case you are forced to flee with little warning.
• Monitor warning signs — Like a rock thrown into a pond, you may not spot the initial impact, but you can readily detect the ripple effect that flows outward from the point of contact. Pay attention to the body language of people around you. They may be reacting to something important they noticed that you have missed. Any sudden change in the demeanor of the crowd, gathering of onlookers, agitators urging a confrontation, or people rapidly moving into your space may be warning signs of impending violence. Look and listen to what is going on around you; shouting, screaming, or other loud commotions also constitute danger signals.
• Watch everyone — Be especially alert for the presence of weapons. If a weapon is fired, the situation immediately escalates into a very serious tactical affair. You may be assaulted directly, caught in the crossfire as law enforcement officers move to restore order, or trampled by terrified bystanders who are trying to get out of the way. Everyone can become a threat, even the good guys. In addition to monitoring the crowd, pay attention to unattended vehicles parked where they shouldn’t be, packages left in high traffic areas, abandoned luggage, or anything else that appears suspicious. The sooner you spot potential dangers the better your chances of reacting appropriately.
Riots typically explode from specific events, things like jury verdicts, perceived racial injustices, rallies, or political protests, particularly if agitators actively stir things up.
• Evaluate your options before you act — Sometimes it is best to flee right away, but occasionally it may be more sensible to hunker down behind something and defend in place. Take a moment to evaluate your options and make a reasoned choice before embarking on any course of action. If you are inside a building look for alternate exits, particularly in a panicked crowd scenario where the main exit will almost certainly be blocked. In nightclubs, for example, windows are often blacked-out so they are easy to miss if you are not actively looking for them.
• Don’t enter an agitated crowd if other alternatives exist — There is a huge difference between a highly spirited crowd of shoppers, a restless throng teetering on the edge of violence, and a riotous mob, one that most anyone actively paying attention can sense. As things begin to turn ugly, don’t hang around to watch no matter how fascinating it might be. Leave as quickly and quietly as possible. Plan your exit route to minimize contact with others, even if it means taking the “long way” around the scene. Slip through gaps between others rather than shoving people out of your way to the extent practicable.
• Don’t fight unless you have no alternative — If you are forced to fight, you may attract undue attention and quickly find yourself facing multiple opponents who want to beat you down or law enforcement officers who don’t realize that you are the good guy. If you are knocked to the ground or stumble and fall, you may very well be trampled. If you have to fight, you will lose valuable time and there is no guarantee that you will survive the encounter, so rather than engaging opponents directly, attempt to deflect or redirect anyone who tries to slow your escape using open-hand techniques.
Crowds can also attract adverse criminal attention, such when pickpockets find a large pool of distracted victims that they can separate from their wealth. Worse yet, terrorists bombers may find the crowd a compelling target since they try to time attacks to inflict maximum casualties.
No matter how tough you are, you cannot knock bullets out of the air or deflect bombs with your “fists of death.” That only happens in the movies. As always, your best defense is awareness, spotting and avoiding dangerous situations before it is too late. In addition to monitoring the mood of the crowd, pay attention to unattended vehicles parked where they shouldn’t be, packages left in high traffic areas, abandoned luggage, or anything else that appears suspicious.
Summary
The following is a brief recap of the content you have read in this section.
• Never start a fight. If you can walk away from a confrontation, you can avoid all the serious repercussions that come with violence. A preemptive strike as you sense an imminent threat, however, can be a legitimate and street-worthy defensive technique when used properly. Preemptive initiative cuts off an attack before it is fully in play, looking an awful lot like a first strike yet is still a defensive movement.
• Sometimes you truly do need to fight in order to protect yourself and/or your loved ones from an immediate and unavoidable threat. Before you throw the first blow, however, it is critical to know that you have a good case for doing so. If the four criteria of ability, opportunity, jeopardy, and preclusion (AOJP) are all met, you have a pretty good legal case for countervailing force. If one or more of these conditions are absent, however, you are on shaky legal ground should you decide to tie up with the other guy.
• It is important to exercise a judicious level of force sufficient to control the other guy in a fight without overreacting. Force options you might select from include (1) presence, (2) voice, (3) empty-hand restraint, (4) non-lethal force, and, ultimately, (5) lethal force. The first two levels can prevent violence before it begins, the third may be used proactively as an opponent prepares to strike, and the last two take place after you have already been attacked.
• Alcohol can be a violence magnet. If you are sober and the other guy is not, you will have a significant advantage in a fight. Hitting a drunk really doesn’t work all that well most of the time, however. A better strategy is to either dodge his blows in order to let him overbalance himself and facilitate your escape or spin him to cause disorientation and make him fall. Once he’s down, you can more readily control him or move to safety.
• Reasonable force in legal terms is generally considered only that force reasonably necessary to repel an attacker’s force. You cannot overreact and expect to stay out of jail. While women can be just as dangerous as men, the courts don’t often see it that way, focusing on size, gender, and strength differences. Consequently, it is challenging to prove that you did not use excessive force if you wind up hitting a girl unless she’s armed with some type of weapon.
• The classic rule is that self-defense begins when deadly danger begins, ends when the danger ends, and revives again if the danger returns. Neither a killing nor a beating that takes place after a crime has already been
