The Police Can Still Choose Nonviolence

As protesters march against police brutality in cities around the nation, the police are out in force, ostensibly to quell violence and keep the peace—that’s one of the core functions of a police department. But given that these protests are responding to police violence in the first place, there’s no reason to believe that a massive show of police force will restore peace. It’s like asking a river to repair flood damage.

Whether traditional law-and-order policing is a good way to respond to other sorts of volatile demonstrations, such as political protests against candidates and riled sports fans and anti-WTO marchers, is an open question. But as years of cases from around the country keep