These two NYPD SUVs plowed into protestors on the correct side of the barriers.
My grandfather was a police officer. He’s been retired my entire life, but I remember as a kid my grandparents still had a police scanner set up in the living room. Sometimes, after Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, we’d turn it on. You could hear the reports police were going to, and the activities of the fire department. Sometimes you could hear the fire department’s sirens, as it wasn’t far from my grandparent’s house. It was quaint, family bonding time. They lived in a quiet, peaceful little town in the mountains, so there wasn’t much activity. Still, the grand kids would sit on the floor, listening.
But that’s not what you’d want a police scanner today.
Protests across the nation turn from peaceful to violent when police attack crowds and right-wing provocateurs intentionally start rioting and looting to create conflict and undermine the protester’s message. Now, more than ever, you may want to know the whereabouts of police, where there’s conflict, what areas to avoid, and if your house is in one of them. In addition to my article on how to use your phone to improve your ability to protest, here’s a quick guide on apps you can use to track the movements of police and conflicts in your city.
In This Article:
Police Scanner Apps
These have already broken the “Top 10” charts on the Apple Store, so you may have already heard of them or thought to download them. The two most popular right now are 5-0 Radio and Scanner Radio. Both are free, but have paid versions to remove ads. I found the ads less intrusive on 5-0 Radio, though the interface is a bit more dated.
With these, you can keep track of what police are doing. This can help you avoid conflict, some that police are bringing lethal or near-leathal force into. It can also help those who aren’t protesting, who may want to listen for alerts about safety.
Citizen
Another, perhaps more modern solution, is Citizen. Citizen is a bit of a social network for police and fire activity. It encourages users who are near incidents to take video and chat about what’s happening, so others in the area can stay informed. They pull from sources like police scanners and public police data.
Citizen’s great because it can also deliver push notifications for issues. Although, it can also make you a little paranoid. I had no idea so many people got shot in my neighborhood until I had Citizen. Fortunately, you can set it up so you only receive emergency alerts, like those you’d receive if rioters were heading your way, nearby buildings were on fire, or police were firing into crowds near you.
An officer pushed this woman to the ground so hard she had to go to the hospital for head trauma, seizures, and a concussion. He’s under investigation and suspended currently.
Nextdoor and Other Social Networks
Nextdoor is a localized social network. With it, you can get in touch with your neighbors, so you can check on the whole neighborhood from your apartment. Use it to make sure your neighbors are okay, or plan going to protests together (6 feet apart, of course). You can also use Facebook, Twitter, or Discord for the same purposes. Just look for your neighborhood or city, and then look for groups or events to follow. Don’t trust strangers just because they’re going to the same events. In fact, it may be better to not use your full name on Facebook, or to simply not use Facebook. The network has become an unsafe place, and hate runs rampant on it.
Signal
Signal is an end-to-end encrypted chat app. It’s more secure than iMessage or other similar services. Your messages aren’t synced across servers, they’re encrypted so only your intended recipient can read them, and failsafes make substitution-based attacks difficult if you know what to look for (changed hashes or “new” users with your friend’s name or details). It’s the chat app approved by NSA leaker Edward Snowden. Using Signal to organize your events ensures that only your friends know what’s happening. You can also stay in contact securely if you get split up.
As police seem to be looking for any excuse to escalate matters, potentially incriminating evidence of your participation in a protest could be enough to get you in jail for a night or two. Keep your communications secure, it could help keep your friends and yourself out of trouble.
Be Safe
You don’t have to be doing anything to become a target of police right now. In fact, you don’t even have to be protesting. This source from The Next Web collected a number of videos of unprovoked attacks just during the past few days. Many of the people weren’t even protesting. As if going outside during the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t dangerous enough, right?
Apps like scanners and social networks can also help you avoid “kettling” while protesting. This is when police try to push protesters into a small area to make arrests easier. It can help you figure out when it’s time to get out of an area before it’s too late and before you suffer potentially serious injuries. Regardless, being corralled into a small area will increase your chances of COVID exposure by a wide margin.
Whatever you use, avoid conflict, don’t cause conflict, and be safe. Remember, we’re still in a pandemic, so cover your mouth and nose at all times, and consider wearing protective eyewear or goggles as well. Wear gloves, use hand sanitizer, and carry water with you everywhere. Dehydration will be a serious concern. In the case of pepper spray, milk works, but your best bet for tear gas and other more serious irritants is a 50/50 mix of a liquid antacid like Mylanta or Maalox and water. Put it in a spray bottle you’ve thoroughly cleaned and you could save your or someone else’s life or vision, as these can cause asphyxiation or blindness.
Police have joined protests and marched with those fighting for an end to disproportionate violence towards black people and a lack of accountability for police. They’ve marched with protesters, and even in high-conflict areas like NYC, have helped protesters stay safe. It’s important to remember that many of them are on our side, and we’ll need to win over legislators to get oversight, training, community policing, and transparency. Some police want safer streets and are willing to listen. However, often when they gather in one area, you’re going to want to leave quickly, especially if they don’t have a history of joining peaceful protests in your city as they have in Camden, New Jersey or Flint, Michigan. When they start closing in on one area, an intersection or street, it’s usually a sign that things are about to go south, and it’s time to leave.
These are dangerous times, stay safe while making your voice heard.
Further Reading:
- Tristan Greene, The Next Web
- Ed Hardy, Cult of Mac