Few will dispute that the right to peacefully protest is constitutionally protected. But walking down the middle of an urban street or standing in the lanes of an Interstate highway is conduct which is not protected.
Urban cities across the country have taken a “hands off” approach to demonstrators and the result is chaos. Like children, protestors push the line of what will be tolerated with the intent of creating confrontation. Politicians operate in fear of being accused of not being politically correct and order the police department to “stand down,” giving rise to destruction of property and affecting the ability of small businesses to operate. The result is that officers are suffering unnecessary injury because they are afraid of disciplinary action or prosecution if they act to enforce the law.
Cities need to designate area(s) where protestors can have their force heard, but they do not need to allow these few people to disrupt the operation of the City itself. Protestors need to be given clear and unmistakable instruction as to what will and will not be tolerated, and then taking the reasonable and necessary action to enforce that policy.
The video of the militarized operation in Ferguson, Mo. and the ensuing biased media coverage has caused cities to retreat to the opposite end of the scale. Officers dressed in riot gear do not scare these people because they know that it is only a show and that officers are not likely to take pro-active actions against them.
Cities need to prepare for mass arrests to send a message as to the “conduct” of the protestors, including the use of reasonable force to protect life and property. The response can be as simple as transporting busloads of prisoners to an enclosed stadium or convention center for processing, or transporting them a few miles away and releasing them. That breaks up the mass of people which provides anonymity to those seeking to commit crimes.
Disorderly conduct is a crime across the country. The Supreme Court has stated on multiple occasions that conduct is not protected. It is the conduct of the protestors which cripples urban areas.
Most of the protestors (albeit misinformed) actually believe that an injustice has occurred and they merely wish to express their displeasure which is their right. The few who seek to hide among the crowd with the intent of creating violence are the ones who need to be focused on by law enforcement. The day that the people expressing their displeasure begin to identify those who are only present to commit crime, protests will become significantly more peaceful and safe for all. The crowd identifying the bottle or rock thrower will send a message that this type of behavior is not acceptable and will serve to deter others from engaging in that behavior.