https://www.wired.com/story/police-tactics-could-turn-protests-into-covid-19-hot-spots/ > In law enforcement theory, it’s called the Miami model, or “strategic incapacitation.” Sometimes it’s just the “hard hat approach.” That’s when police and other security services show up at mass demonstrations or protests in full riot gear—helmets, face masks, clubs, shields, body armor, chemical weapons. At the first hint of chaos, the police form skirmish lines to deny a crowd access to a space, and then advance those lines to corral and direct the crowd, pushing further with weapons nominally less lethal than guns, like tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and flashbang explosives. Since the violent protests at the 1999 meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle, the Miami model has become a standard response. Militarization of municipal police forces in the United States since 9/11 made it even more intense. > The Miami model is terrible. It galvanizes even a peaceful crowd into rage, causes injuries and sometimes death, breaches trust in law enforcement, and results in lawsuits against cities and police departments. Also, it seems likely to be an excellent way to accelerate the spread of the deadly pandemic disease Covid-19.