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Featured interview (46:02) Before Ferguson changed protest policing across the country, major demonstrations in St. Louis were handled very differently.
Retired SLMPD Officer Rick Rea spent 13 years in the department’s Intelligence Division, where part of his job was learning who was coming to town, what they were planning, and how police could prepare before a protest ever began.
Rick takes us inside the intelligence operations behind some of St. Louis’ biggest demonstrations of the era. He shares how he became trusted by members of the disability rights group ADAPT, attended their strategy meetings, and quietly passed information to police commanders as protests unfolded.
He also looks back at the massive preparations surrounding the World Agricultural Forum, when St. Louis prepared for the same kind of chaos protesters had brought to Seattle. Intelligence officers tracked tactics, identified locations, worked with other police departments, and helped prepare the newly formed Civil Disobedience Team for what many believed could become a major confrontation.
The worst of it never happened, and that may be the point.
This is a look back at protest policing before social media, before demonstrations could form in minutes, and before Ferguson changed the way protests were organized, covered, and policed in St. Louis and across the country.
Before we get into our conversation with Rick Rea, the crew covers everything from the infamous 1991 Guns N’ Roses riot at Riverport and an unexpected phone call from Dennis Haymon, to a serious discussion about leadership, policing and the current state of St. Louis. As always, there are plenty of laughs along the way, including the official demotion of Axl Rose to “Bill Rose.”
Communities that support law enforcement are safer places to live.
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