What to Expect in a Public Demonstration
A peaceful demonstration is a right that should be morally executed in several cases. These include: Public injustices, policy disagreements, dissatisfactions in government efficiency. When a peaceful demonstration becomes abysmal, everybody bears the brunt of the consequences attached.
What happens is that physical struggles ensue between armed, shielded law enforcement officers and unshielded demonstrators. Extreme cases of this end up in medical emergencies.
The common medical emergencies include:
- Scalp injury
- Skull fracture
- Subdural hematoma
- Epidural hematoma
- Kussmaul breathing
When unarmed and unshielded demonstrators come out for a march, should they be beaten and dehumanized? Even when a few demonstrators say they can’t breathe when they are cuffed, prone to the ground, isn’t that a sign for law enforcement personnel to rethink their actions?
Law enforcement agencies might be failing to protect the citizens they’ve sworn to protect. Proper care should be excited when handling demonstrators. Crucial areas like the head and chest shouldn’t be hit. Pinning a demonstrator down to the ground longer, should be avoided as this could be life threatening.
Emergency response team should be better equipped and experienced, should situation turn sour. In view of the latest march in Georgia against the postponement of EU accession talks till 2028, it is highly important that the Government treat demonstrators and march with utmost caution.
According to the Georgian Ministry of health, 44 people were injured during Sunday’s 1/12/2024 demonstration. Among them were 16 law enforcement officers, a journalist and the remainder, demonstrators. In a march like this, no one is spared and so, every one can be affected. It is paramount that everyone acts in a position of safety while they make their demands.
To guarantee safety, officers should stand shielded and meters away from the demonstrators. They should also avoid violent crackdowns to avoid irate demonstrators. Demonstrators should shout for help when their lives are endangered. Trained emergency response team should be timely available.