"The Intercept is publishing three of the public records with this story, including the [NYPD's Strategic Response Group aka] SRG’s guidelines and manuals for its field force operations and bike squads." https://theintercept.com/2021/04/07/nypd-strategic-response-unit-george-floyd-protests/

"Even the frequently cited number of 700 SRG officers is an estimate; the NYPD will not confirm the unit’s headcount."

"They outline the unit’s responsibilities during routine assignments to precincts across the city, to which its officers are dispatched in response to spikes in crime and during special mobilizations, including to protests."

"The documents provide instructions regarding 'mass arrest' procedures, guidelines for officers equipped with Colt M4 rifles, and directions for plainclothes, 'counter-surveillance' officers tasked with shadowing tactical teams in the field."

"Marked as 'law enforcement sensitive' and bearing destruction notices, the documents also detail a variety of formations and maneuvers for bike squads and teams of officers on foot and in vehicles."

"Some of the maneuvers described in detail are variations of what the NYPD refers to as 'encirclement,' the police’s name for what demonstrators call 'kettling,' a technique civil rights advocates have long denounced as leading to police abuses."

"Many of the policies laid out in the documents were not followed last summer or during more recent police crackdowns on protests. But the documents also raise questions about the content of police training on protest response itself."

"While paying lip service to protesters’ constitutional rights, the documents do little to explain how those rights should be protected, offering instead page after page of instructions on how to circumvent them."

"A spokesperson for the NYPD defended the SRG’s training, which he said includes a specialized SRG Academy as well as an annual, two-day course and eight monthly, two-hour unannounced drills."

"Members of the SRG Bicycle Squad participate in an annual two-day refresher course, he added. In August 2020 the department expanded training on the policing of protest to all members of the service."

“'The NYPD protects the Constitutional right to peaceful protest, and works to ensure public safety for any New Yorker exercising their First Amendment rights,' the spokesperson, Sergeant Edward D. Riley, wrote in a statement to The Intercept."

#CopsLie

"The NYPD documents include several drawings of tactical maneuvers as well as photos taken during police training and real-life protests, including some featuring prominent activists like Linda Sarsour, Tamika Mallory, and Jose LaSalle."

lol They did copwatcher Jose LaSalle of @CopwatchCPU dirty by putting him in the same sentence as Justice League members Linda Sarsour & Tamika Mallory.

"Overall, the SRG materials reflect a heavy-handed approach to the policing of protest and echo the war-on-terror mentality on which the unit was premised, at one point referring to protesters as potential 'hostile targets.'”

"NYPD documents, which detail a clear chain of command in protest situations, also underscore how top department leadership, rather than rogue cops, bears responsibility for police actions during the protests, including the decisions to “kettle” people and resort to mass arrests"

"Within a year of its founding, a controversial push to expand the NYPD’s head count by 1,300 officers ended up doubling the size of the SRG. Its budget quickly ballooned from $13 million to nearly $90 million."

"Equipped with state-of-the-art anti-riot gear and heavy weaponry, as well as its signature fleet of bicycles and combat armor-clad riders, the SRG, a voluntary unit, attracted cops looking for “more action,” many with lengthy misconduct records."

"Despite initial reassurances to the contrary, the SRG ended up policing protests far more than it did any “counterterrorism” work — already the job of the NYPD’s Counterterrorism Bureau — but it brought its militarized mentality and tactics to the policing of civil unrest."

"SRG engaged in what the unit’s guidelines refer to as 'high visibility static deployment,' a show of force intended to 'provide and enhance visibility at sensitive or other locations.'"

"The unit dispatched officers donning military-style gas masks, ready for the 'hazards of a weapons of mass destruction event' thanks to training in Chemical Ordinance, Biological and Radiological Awareness, or COBRA."

"The documents lay out procedures for dealing with emergencies, to which the SRG can respond by answering calls over citywide radio.

Unlike with emergency calls, the SRG often has advance notice and time to prepare for protests."

"As soon as a detail is approved, an SRG field intelligence officer begins compiling a package of information on the situation for distribution to the SRG executive staff and commanding officer."

"According to the SRG documents, the intelligence packets include information such as the group size, planned arrests, key members of the protest group, and the group’s hierarchy."

"Based on the intelligence, SRG executives make tactical decisions and supervisors debrief officers on the response plan, including the 'past history of this event or others involving this location or organization.'"

"Other SRG documents repeatedly refer to the unit’s reliance on intelligence and the monitoring of social media."

"When the SRG arrives at a protest, it plays a supporting role in the NYPD ecosystem. SRG officers report to the local commander in charge, who has the authority to order arrests."

"Before such an order, according to the documents, SRG officers are instructed to follow directions and not to exercise discretion."

"They may make arrests unilaterally if they witness any felony or serious misdemeanor, such as vandalism, reckless endangerment, possession of a weapon, or assault."

"But the decision to engage in mass arrests of protesters for nonviolent behavior like unlawful assembly or 'obstructing governmental administration,' the most frequent protest-related charges, rests squarely with department leadership"

Interesting thing I found in NYPD's "SRG Field Force Modules" is that NYPD uses a pic of them cracking down on #NoJusticeNoPride protesters in 2017 in their module on "mass arrest."

Interesting how, in NYPD's SRG Bike Squad Modules while referring to protests that SRG bike cops helped repress, the NYPD refers to May Day protests as "ANTIFA/BLM" protests.

Almost as if the NYPD is a fascist organization that gets its info from fascist propaganda.

In NYPD's SRG Bike Squad Modules, in the section on crowd control, the NYPD states that there are 2 types of crowds: "peaceful" & "violent."

& they make it clear that by "violent" they mean "non-compliant," "unscheduled" protests with "no permit."

Notice the examples they give.

In NYPD's SRG Bike Squad Modules, NYPD identifies 3 "types of protesters":

-"Everyday citizens" who "honor the 1st amendment" & "make their voices heard"

-"Professional" protesters who "may be paid to be arrested"

-"Anarchists" who "challenge authority" & "destroy property"

In NYPD's SRG Bike Squad Modules section on "crowd management," cops are taught how to use Sabre MK 9 OC Spray on people.

Just the cover of NYPD's Strategic Response Group (SRG) Guide is fashy as hell.

NYPD's SRG Field Force Modules on the 8th amendment:

"When a responder uses force, it can draw a crowd of protesters, which will attempt to intimidate & distract by yelling that the tactics are cruel and unusual punishment. Do not let uninformed threats affect response."

NYPD's SRG Field Force Modules teaches cops about the Handschu Agreement along with its history (namely, NYPD spying on & repression of the Black Panther Party).

But in practice, the cops know they won't face any consequences for violating the Handschu Agreement.

NYPD's SRG Field Force Modules mentions that the Handschu Agreement "prohibits indiscriminate police video recording, and photographing of public gatherings where there is NO indication that unlawful activity is occurring."

But NYPD's TARU does that at almost every protest!

NYPD's SRG Field Force Modules features a pic of copwatcher Jose LaSalle of @CopwatchCPU in the section on the 1st amendment (& its limits as determined by the courts).

In the section on using flex-cuffs, NYPD's SRG Field Force Modules makes sure to note that flex-cuffs are "acceptable to use on physically disabled" people.

NYPD's SRG Field Force Modules says that metal cuffs should be used for felony & misdemeanor arrests, but I've definitely been put in metal cuffs at protests before.

NYPD's SRG Field Force Modules also says that cops must check on people in flex-cuffs "periodically to ensure adequate blood flow to hands" but I've seen countless people who had the flexcuffs on so tight that it cut circulation & even injured their wrists.

NYPD's SRG Field Force Modules has a section on flex-cuff removal, for which you apparently need a "flex-cuff cutter."

NYPD's SRG Field Force Modules has a section where the NYPD tries to front like the LRAD is just a "communication system" & "NOT a weapon" since the LRAD "does NOT produce any type of sonic blast waves that will cause physical injury, such as knocking somebody to the ground."

NYPD's SRG Field Force Modules claims that the LRAD's sound cannon is just an "Alert Tone" that's for gaining people's "attention when verbal communication does not work." It used to be called an "Aversion Tone" or "Deterrent Tone" but LRAD corp. is now changing the wording.

On one page NYPD's SRG Field Force Modules will swear to you that the LRAD is "NOT a weapon", & on another page, it will then admit that "improper use of the LRAD can result in hearing damage."

NYPD's SRG Field Force Modules has some history of the LRAD & its use but doesn't mention the NYPD's use of the LRAD as a sound cannon in December 2014 & the lawsuit that resulted.