Former Boston police commissioner says National Guard presence 'needs to be increased' to stop riots
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Boston police commissioner Ed Davis told “The Daily Briefing” Tuesday that the National Guard presence in cities across America "needs to be increased" in response to the riots that have erupted following protests over George Floyd’s death.
Davis, the head of Boston's police department at the time of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, praised Los Angeles police chief Michael Moore as a “good” example of “striking a delicate balance between allowing people to exercise their right to free speech” and “stopping when the violence starts.”
“We used to watch these demonstrations very closely," he said. "We had sufficient people both visible and behind the scenes to back them up and then when people started to break windows or started to light fires, we would move in, we would have surveillance units watching to identify individuals that should be arrested. We move pretty deliberately and quickly to stop it."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}GEORGE FLOYD UNREST: CITIES FACE NEW LOOTING AMID STRONGER NATIONAL GUARD RESPONSE, CURFEWS
Looters besieged Macy’s iconic Herald Square store in New York City Monday evening as police brought in to enforce an 11 p.m. curfew struggled to control and apprehend a crowd that smashed windows and damaged property at the store.
As the curfew approached, bands of protesters were evident throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, and police attempted to respond to multiple reports of roving groups smashing their way into shops and emptying them of merchandise, the Associated Press reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Video posted on social media showed some protesters arguing with people breaking store windows and urging them to stop, the AP reported, but vandalism and smash-and-grab thefts continued largely unabated.
Davis told host Dana Perino that it is “totally ridiculous” that people are concerned about an over-aggressive response to the rioting.
“If you look at what is happening out there, the police are being attacked," he said. "They are throwing bricks at them. Seven police officers in Boston were injured, one seriously was injured with a brick on Sunday night. This is happening all over the country.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Davis argued that the “police action is predicated upon the actions of the crowd.”
“When the crowd starts to get violent, the police react to protect themselves, but more importantly to protect the community, and protect the businesses in the area," Davis said. "Anybody that is trying to spin this [to say] that the police are creating this violence isn’t watching very closely."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The National Guard had activated a total of 67,000 troops as of Tuesday morning, including 20,400 members to respond to the unrest. Governors in 23 states and Washington D.C., have activated Guardsmen to support local and state law enforcement.
"We are here to protect life and property, and preserve peace, order, and public safety," said Gen. Joseph Lengyel, Chief of the National Guard Bureau.