(Below is a message from someone who was listening to the scanner during the new year’s eve noise demonstration. It’s being published to give an idea of how police responded to the demonstration, hopefully we can learn from their response and better understand their tactics.)
Listened to scanner on two channels: city wide and 6th district, where the federal detention center is located.
At 8:27 PM, a report of a group of about 50 protesters outside the federal building at 7th and Arch.
Cop 1: Should I send for backup?
Cop 2: Yeah, we’re sending some bike officers from the 9th district your way.
Cop 1: Okay.
Cop 3: Yeah, these guys do this every year. They make a lot of noise and shoot fireworks. It doesn’t get violent.
Cop 4: Okay, we’re staging backup around city hall by 15th and market in case you need them.
Cop 5: It looks like an-teefa. Wearing all black, they got their faces covered, some of em carrying hammers.
Cop ?: You said hammers?
Cop 5: Yeah, they all got hammers.
About one minute later:
(All the cops are ? in this part so they are all labelled as cop without a number)
Cop: We’re gonna need backup, they’re smashing windows. They busted out the windows of a cruiser.
Cop: Okay, where at?
Cop: Around 7th and Arch. They’re moving now.
Cop: Okay, see if you can follow them.
Cop: Yeah, they’re smashing more windows now. Storefronts.
Cop: All right move in on them.
Cop: Woowww…
Cop: All right, I’m giving an order to arrest on sight.
Cop: Where are they now? Does anyone have eyes on them?
Cop: Yeah, the split up. Most of em are headed westbound on Arch and some of them went north on 8th toward Chestnut.
Cop: Okay, I’m diverting all highway units to that area.
Cop: Can we get more cars in that area, see how many of them we can pick up?
Cop: Yeah, I’m gonna say between 7th and 10th and Arch and Chestnut, we want all nearby available units patrolling that area looking for them.
Cop: Can someone check social media too, start seeing if you can find anything about this?
Cop: I’m on it.
Cop: Does anyone have eyes on them?
Cop: Yeah, I’m following a few right now.
Cop: You can arrest on sight, go in.
Cop: All right.
Cop: I’m driving up Chestnut, I don’t see any sign of them.
Cop: Okay. Maybe we can get in touch with SEPTA, see if they got any reports of a large group of people in black enter a subway.
Cop: Yeah, there’s a subway entrance on 8th and Chestnut.
Cop: I got one arrested here. Male. Where do you want me to take him?
Cop: Just hold him there for now. Can someone get in touch with the federal building?
Cop: Did they damage done on federal property?
Cop: Yeah, two windows at the federal building smashed.
Cop: All right. Someone send an officer over there to talk with them, see what they wanna do.
Cop: We can pull footage from the city cameras around the area, see if we can get any video of them getting out of cars, get their plates…
Cop: Does anyone know where they are now?
Cop: I don’t see them.
Cop: My guys don’t see any sign of them.
Cop: SEPTA officer reported a large group of juveniles boarded the train at 8th and Chestnut. But they were headed eastbound…
Cop: (disappointed) Okay…
Cop: I just spoke with a very nice man from the federal building who said the they’ll handle the booking.
Cop: Okay, they wanna handle the booking. Take anyone you pick up to the federal building.
Cop: We got two prisoners here, two females. Taking them there now.
A few minutes later, approximately 8:45:
Cop: Any sign of them?
Cop: Yeah, I got three individuals detained in a lot over by 7th and Sansom now.
Got interrupted after that by a phone call and stopped listening.
