When riot cops are not enough

de Mike King

"In When Riot Cops Are Not Enough, sociologist and activist Mike King examines the policing, and broader political repression, of the Occupy Oakland movement during the fall of 2011 through the spring of 2012. King's active and daily participation in that movement, from its inception through its demise, provides a unique insider perspective to illustrate how the Oakland police and city administrators lost the ability to effectively control the movement. Drawn from King's intensive field work, the book focuses on the physical, legal, political, and ideological dimensions of repression--in the streets, in courtrooms, in the media, in city hall, and within the movement itself--When Riot Cops Are Not Enough highlights the central role of political legitimacy, both for mass movements seeking to create social change, as well as for governmental forces seeking to control such movements. Although Occupy Oakland was different from other Occupy sites in many respects, King shows how the contradictions it illuminated within both social movement and police strategies provide deep insights into the nature of protest policing generally, and a clear map to understanding the full range of social control techniques used in North America in the twenty-first century"-- "This book examines the policing, and broader political repression, of Occupy Oakland. This project emerged from the authors active, daily participation in the movement, from its inception through its demise. The book illustrates how the Oakland police and city administrators lost their ability to effectively control the movement in its first two months, while its primary objective is to show how, through a variety of techniques, they were able to regain that control. After a failure to establish communicative cooperation with the movement (negotiated management), techniques of militarized policing, less-lethal weapons, and coordinated efforts to forge police control of urban space (strategic incapacitation) failed miserably in late-October 2011- leading to over 50,000 people shutting down the Port of Oakland a week later. Drawn from almost a year of intensive field work, the book focuses on the period from Occupy Oakland's beginnings, in early October 2011, until its last major mass action on May 1, 2012. Looking at the physical, legal and politico-ideological dimensions of repression - in the streets, in courtrooms, in the media, in city hall, and within the movement itself - this book highlights the central role of political legitimacy, both for mass movements seeking to create social change, as well as for forces seeking to control those movements. Although Occupy Oakland was very different from other U.S. Occupy sites in many respects, the contradictions it illuminated within both social movement and police strategies provide deep insights into the nature of protest policing generally, and a clear map to understanding the full range of social control techniques used in North America in the current moment. "--