2 decades ago, when I was still a junior officer in the Belgian army, I have seen several of my colleagues leave for the federal police (which was, back then, still organised along military lines). I remember a discussion I then had with a police major, who / https://twitter.com/GravelInstitute/status/1266929927116468225

pointed out that, while military officers had clearly acquired a lot of leadership and organizational skills, one challenge in retraining them as police men is that they had to learn to be much more constrained in the application of violence "A riot is not a battlefield" /

I cannot judge how representative these images are, but I see no restraint in the application whatsoever. Those police officers are not people who overreact under stress or misjudge a difficult situation. They just apply violence. It really points to big differences in culture. /

Just last year, I have been eye witness to "yellow vest" protests in Brussels. The police was subject to some real aggression from the demonstrators, and reacted with utter calm. Being part of riot police is an incredibly difficult job & requires exceptional men and women. But /

above all, an appropriate training and working culture.