Police Memos Say Arrest Tactics Calmed Protest
By Jim Dwyer
NY Times, March 17, 2006

The streets are getting crazy dangerous! Recently released internal NYPD documents show that the police believe they can arrest "obviously potential rioters" which means ANYONE ON THE STREET CAN BE ARRESTED PREEMPTIVELY. Be careful out there kids.

Indeed, one of the documents — a draft report from the department's Disorder Control Unit — proposed in blunt terms the resumption of a covert tactic that had been disavowed by the city and the federal government 30 years earlier. Under the heading of recommendations, the draft suggested, "Utilize undercover officers to distribute misinformation within the crowds."

Asked about the proposal, Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the Police Department, said yesterday: "The N.Y.P.D. does not use police officers in any capacity to distribute misinformation."