Policy Text
Field Services Page 1 of 4 05/06 (REV 1/04)
Civil Disturbances and Riots
The purpose of this order is to e stablish initial guidelines fo r major civil disturbances or
riots, and is supplemented by Fie ld Operations order "Civil Dis obedience/Mass Arrests".
I. Officer's Responsibilities
The first officer at the scene or the Designated Incident Coord inator shall:
A. Obtain all available info rmation from Communications.
B. Observe and evaluat e the situation.
C. Advise Communications and a pat rol sergeant of the situation .
D. Request a patrol sergeant and/ or the watch commander respond to the
scene.
E. Until a field supervisor arri ves, coordinate the response of other units and
relay any need of support pers onnel to the patrol sergeant. Se lect
possible Command Post locatio n and possible staging areas.
II. Supervisor's Responsibilities
A. Coordinate the actions of all responding units.
B. Set up a Command Post and ac tivate Incident Command System.
C. Select staging area.
D. Notify the Field Services Division Commander, who in turn wi ll notify the
Chief Deputy for Field Services.
E. Determine the need to close any area to public access and th e boundaries
of any area so identified.
F. Determine if the incident falls within the guidelines of the “Civil
Disobedience/Mass Arrests” Field Operations Order.
Field Services Page 2 of 4 05/06 (REV 1/04) III. Related Enforc ement Code Sections
A. 403 PC Disturbance Of Assembly Or Meeting
B. 404 PC Riot Defined
C. 404.6 PC Urging Riot; Bur ning Or Destroying Property
D. 405a PC Lynching Defined
E. 406 PC Rout Defined
F. 407 PC Unlawful Assembly Defined
G. 409 PC Remaining At Riot A fter Warning To Disperse
H. 409.5 PC Entering Into Ar ea Closed During An Emergency
I. 410 PC Officer: Neglects/R efuses To Disperse Rioters
J. 416 PC Refusing To Dis perse On Lawful Command
K. 647c PC Obstruction Of Thoroughfare/Public Place
L. 726 PC Officers To Command Rioters To Disperse
M. 727 PC Obligation To Arre st If Failure To Disperse
N. 9.82.020 (County Code) Loitering
IV. Announcement Of U nlawful Assembly
A. A dispersal order must be gi ven before a per son can be guilt y of
remaining at a place of a riot, rout, or unlawful assembly. (Re quired per
PC 726)
1. Establish a well id entifiable perimeter within which all per sons who
choose to remain will be arrested.
2. The area to be cleared of demons trators must be clearly defi ned.
3. If feasible, an officer s hould be stationed at the outermost point of
the perimeter during the dispersal order to ensure that the ord er
can be heard.
Field Services Page 3 of 4 05/06 (REV 1/04) B. The unlawful assembly announcem ent should be given in a clea r and loud
voice, utilizing a loudspeaker if necessary.
C. The unlawful assembly stateme nt may have the following form:
"I am (Name and Rank), of the Sa cramento County Sheriff's Depar tment.
I hereby declare this to be an unl awful assembly and, in the na me of the
People of the State of California, command all those assembled at (give
specific location) to immediat ely disperse. If you do not dispe rse, you will
be arrested."
D. Announce a route acceptable fo r the demonstrators to take wh en leaving
the area.
E. A reasonable amount of time sho uld be given for compliance. Repeat the
order to disperse. If the crowd fails to disperse, the order fo r arrest may
then be given.
V. Crowd Control Formations
A. Utilize Crowd Control Formations as necessary.
B. Utilize Arrest Teams
1. Three (3) person arrest teams
2. Five (5) person arrest teams
C. Incident Commander may deploy Less Lethal Weapons Teams. Und er the
direction of a platoon leader, only personnel qualified with th e following
weapons are to be utilized.
1. SL-6 (Sage) 37mm launcher
2. Pepperball SA-200 or FN303 weapon
3. Non-Lethal Chemical Agents
D. Organize Mobile Field Forces (MFF) as needed.
1. Refer to OES Law Enforcement G uide for Emergency Operations.
VI. Arrest Procedure
A. Arrests must be justified and only that amount of force nece ssary will be
used to make the arrests.
Field Services Page 4 of 4 05/06 (REV 1/04) B. Incidents must be handled as quickly as possible without esc alating the
situation.
C. Entry into the incident per imeter by unauthorized persons sh ould be
prohibited. Persons wishing to l eave should be allowed the opp ortunity
unless there is a legitimate reason for arrest.
VII. Call-Up Of Personnel
A. Emergency - The Watch Commander , with the Field Services Div ision
Commander's approval, shall call in those off duty personnel ne cessary to
handle the disturbance.
B. Non-emergency - If