This is just cosplaying really. If the cops want to break this kind of thing up, they can easily do it. Tear gas that formation and see if they keep linking their arms while trying to wipe their eyes. So much of this garbage is dependent on the belief that the police aren't serious about intervening. These kids don't realize that the cops are usually held back by orders from above to not move in and clear a protest.
On one hand, there's an argument for public safety that gets made, since any time the cops move in, they have to do it with enough manpower to be able to effectively clear the crowd + reserve to make arrests behind the front line. No police chief would order cops to move in to a situation they felt they'd get overwhelmed by the crowd because of the risk of safety to his own men and to the general public if it touched off a broader city-wide riot. On the other hand, they've got woke blue city leadership holding them back as well because of their political sympathies. But the truth is the cops are well-funded and often have large reserves of military-grade tactical gear they can use from bullet-resistant vests to armored personnel carriers, as well as a whole panoply of "less lethal" tech.
These kids think they're being given training of some sort of value. It's a bit like the boy scout who just learned first aid thinking he knows enough to be a doctor or the kid who just made it through the first week of boot camp thinking he's a special forces operator.
This is just cosplaying really. If the cops want to break this kind of thing up, they can easily do it. Tear gas that formation and see if they keep linking their arms while trying to wipe their eyes. So much of this garbage is dependent on the belief that the police aren't serious about intervening. These kids don't realize that the cops are usually held back by orders from above to not move in and clear a protest.
On one hand, there's an argument for public safety that gets made, since any time the cops move in, they have to do it with enough manpower to be able to effectively clear the crowd + reserve to make arrests behind the front line. No police chief would order cops to move in to a situation they felt they'd get overwhelmed by the crowd because of the risk of safety to his own men and to the general public if it touched off a broader city-wide riot. On the other hand, they've got woke blue city leadership holding them back as well because of their political sympathies. But the truth is the cops are well-funded and often have large reserves of military-grade tactical gear they can use from bullet-resistant vests to armored personnel carriers, as well as a whole panoply of "less lethal" tech.
These kids think they're being given training of some sort of value. It's a bit like the boy scout who just learned first aid thinking he knows enough to be a doctor or the kid who just made it through the first week of boot camp thinking he's a special forces operator.