posted on Aug, 8 2007 @ 03:14 PM
I am not exactly sure what you are asking or what jurisdiction you live in, but I hope I can answer your question at least in part...
I spent nearly a decade of my life on a city PD, just left a few months ago for a better job, and in our fairly large department we had no special
"riot squad," rather the officers who chose to have that training and be a part of that unit simply carried the "riot" gear in the trunks of their
cruisers. If it was needed, we would meet at a staging area and put on our gear. There was no special station dedicated to the unit, the only
difference was that we met a few times a month for our own training outside of normal department training.
As far as brutality goes, I never did find myself in a violent "riot" situation so I can not truthfully respond. My philosophy, and I think I will
speak for most LEOs when I say this, was simply that I would do whatever it took to go home alive at the end of my shift. I'd rather be judged by
twelve than carried by six. However violence for violence's sake, for example an officer beating on someone just because he or she thought they could
get away with it, is completely unjustifiable in any situation.
That is just my opinion, your mileage may vary.