Members of three Hudson County police departments gathered last week at the intersection of 23rd Street and Summit Avenue in Union City to train for civil unrest.
Since 9/11, towns in this area have become more cognizant of the need to be prepared for any contingency. If that fateful day taught anything, it was that anything can happen.
Under overcast skies, approximately 45 police officers from the police departments of Union City, West New York and Hoboken gathered under the tutelage of instructor Bob Edwards.
Edwards, a retired 30-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Metro Police Department, heads a company called American Law Enforcement, Inc. which specializes in training police departments around the country in different police techniques.
Most of the officers gathered ribbed each other and laughed, but once Edwards’ voice rose above the din in a command of “line up!” faces turned serious. Said Edwards to the officers after a “mask donning” exercise, “You may never have to do it that fast, but you never know. That’s why we do this.”
The three-day program consisted of a day and half of classroom instruction and another day and a half of “street” instruction.
Specialization and preparedness has become a hallmark of the Union City Police Department under the direction of Mayor and Director of Public Safety Brian Stack. Recently, the city accepted a bid for an Emergency Services Unit that will be equipped with all manners of emergency gear, including riot gear. Undoubtedly, this vehicle will assist officers in “civil disobedience” situations.
Two blasts
At the first day of training, a small air horn carried by Edwards alerted the officers to how to move. Two blasts indicated “get ready to move”. At this, the officers began striking their plastic riot shields with their PR-24 nightsticks in rhythm. This created an ominous sight/sound combination. Another single air horn blast signaled the officers to begin moving forward in a “line formation” that is intended to create an armed human wall to ward off large unruly crowds.
One may question the need for such training in a town as small and densely populated as Union City, but according to Union City Police Captain Joe Blaettler, “This is definitely needed. We’ve had some instances where crowds gathered and became unruly. This type of training prepares us for different situations.”
Blaettler was referring to a motor vehicle accident that occurred a few years ago on the corner of Summit Avenue and 24th Street that in Blaettler’s words “quickly became a crowd control situation.” Evidently, the crowd had been watching a soccer game at Roosevelt Stadium. Many who witnessed the accident became angry at the driver of one of the vehicles. The driver’s car was quickly surrounded by an angry crowd of 200 people. The Union City Police arrived on the scene and quickly extricated the individual from the scene, but obviously, this situation is the type that last week’s training addressed.
The brainchild behind the coordination of the training was Blaettler, who said, “It was my idea. I went to Mayor Stack and he thought it was a great idea. As you can see, it’s a way of dealing with large crowds. You can’t pick and choose your scenarios. You have to be prepared for anything.”
Continued Blaettler, “This type of thing is good for the men, and it’s good for the community. If the public sees that their police department is professional and organized, [crowd control] situations are less likely to occur.”
Blaettler also stated that this training is something he would like to see happen “every four months or so, because just like anything else, if you don’t practice, you forget.”
When reached for comment, Mayor Brian Stack said, “I praise Captain Blaettler for setting up the program with Chief Norman Bareis to give the department the proper training. It really sets a professional tone for the police department and helps us be ready for any eventuality.”
Instructor Bob Edwards, who has been conducting these training programs since 1997, said about the training, “You’re anticipating a hostile crowd. The point here is to move the crowd non-violently. The big thing is to ‘make the problem go away,’ as we say. The best thing that can happen is to disperse the crowd and have no arrests.”
Added Edwards, “No matter where we take this training, everybody comes out of it happy and better informed. It’s important to remember that civil disturbances can happen anywhere – even in Union City.”