Boston 25 News, January 2021
The immediate response from police following the protests turned violent in Washington, D.C. is leading to criticism and comparison. Over the summer, the nation’s Capitol and many other cities were sites of peaceful social justice protects along with some that turned violent at night.
“When we compare how the protests were handled over the summer, Black Lives Matter protests versus what we saw yesterday we saw a police department that wasn’t prepared seemed to be more at one with the protesters not seeing them as somebody that needs to be feared,” said Jack McDevitt, director of the Institute on Race and Justice at Northeastern University.
McDevitt has studied police agencies for four decades. Some of the questions relate to the way officers prepared for President Donald Trump’s rally, and the thousands of people in attendance prior to the riots. “There was no reason not (to) believe that they would be needing a strong police presence before this event took place,” said McDevitt.
