Training is one thing that police just do not get enough practical experience before they are put into a situation where intelligence and smart thinking could have prevented serious problems.
In a recent popular news story a female Veteran refused to allow the flag of the United States of America to be burned.
The police ended up wrestling this brave woman to the ground and handcuffing her they allowed this because they were not well trained in how to deal with these kinds of situations.
Mistake number one.
The police failed to separate two opposing groups of people.
When confronted with an altercation you always separate the two groups by distance.
Next you deal with the situation as it develops away from the groups ability to create violence.
When two opposing groups are separated it is very difficult for the situation to get out of hand.
Mistake number two.
Communication.
The police in this instance failed to communicate the situation properly.
The police should have taken possession of the flag as evidence of a civil dispute.
This would have prevented the flag from being burned and the altercation escalating into a national press incident.
Proper crowd management is an essential skill in proper police procedure however these officers clearly had no clue.
Watch the Video and you can see clearly the mistakes they made.