The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Honors College Spring 5-2018 From Unrest to Occupation Cameron J. Ouellette University of Maine Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Ouellette, Cameron J., "From Unrest to Occupation" (2018). Honors College. 346. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/346 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors College by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FROM UNREST TO OCCUPATION by Cameron J. Ouellette A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for a Degree with Honors (Political Science) The Honors College University of Maine May 2018 Advisory Committee: Amy Fried, Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science, Advisor Mark Brewer, Professor, Department of Political Science and Honors College Robert W. Glover, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and CLAS Preceptor of Honors James Warhola, Dr. John M. Nickerson Professor, Department of Political Science Steven E. Barkan, Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology © 2018 Cameron Ouellette All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT The repeated occurrences of protest violence during or following Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations has been an issue for the United States since the mass demonstrations of Ferguson, MO in August of 2014. Since then, the United States has experienced a trend of organized demonstrations which follow officer-involved shootings of primarily African American civilians. How and why communities around the nation react to police violence can vary, as do the explanations for the responses of community members, demonstrators, and police officers. The protests of Ferguson, MO (2014) and of North Minneapolis, MN (2015) were similarly prompted by police shootings but each experienced a different kind of protest and police response. This thesis explores how different theoretical perspectives illuminate differences between how Ferguson and North Minneapolis reacted to police violence and argues that multiple theories are needed for analyzing such protests. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I want to thank the Honors College and especially my parents for supporting me in my academic pursuits as I transitioned over to the Political Science Department after a year pursuing civil and environmental engineering. I would also like to thank the whole Political Science Department for helping me make the most of my undergraduate career. Next, I would like to thank my advisor, Richard Powell, for years of advice on studying Political Science. A large thank you goes out to my thesis advisor, Amy Fried, for all her help and guidance she has provided for me along the way in my thesis journey. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review ................................................................................................................ 4 Chapter One: Methodology ............................................................................................... 14 Chapter Two: Ferguson Unrest.......................................................................................... 17 Chapter Three: North Minneapolis Occupation ................................................................ 41 Chapter Four: Analysis ...................................................................................................... 58 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 85 Appendices ........................................................................................................................ 91 Appendix A: History of U.S. Policing Style & Models ................................................... 92 Appendix B: Macro-Historical Graphic ........................................................................... 95 Author’s Biography ........................................................................................................... 96 v LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: Micro-Context Theories ........................................................................................ 4 Chart 2: Police Practice and Protest Interaction Theories ................................................... 8 Chart 3: Macro-Context Theories ...................................................................................... 12 Chart 4: Evidence and Micro-Context Theories ................................................................ 14 Chart 5: Evidence and Police Practice and Protest Interaction Theories .......................... 15 Chart 6: Evidence and Macro-Context Theories ............................................................... 16 Chart 7: Findings and Micro-Context Theories ................................................................. 59 Chart 8: Findings and Police Practice and Protest Interaction Theories ........................... 70 Chart 9: Findings and Macro-Context Theories ................................................................ 76 vi INTRODUCTION The repeated occurrences of protest violence during or following Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations has been an issue for the United States since the mass demonstrations of Ferguson, MO in August of 2014. Since then, the United States has experienced a trend of organized demonstrations which follow officer-involved shootings of primarily African American civilians.1 How and why communities around the nation react to police violence can vary, as do the explanations for the responses of community members, demonstrators, and police officers. The protests of Ferguson, MO (2014) and of North Minneapolis, MN (2015) were similarly prompted by police shootings but each experienced a different kind of protest and police responses. This thesis explores how different theoretical perspectives illuminate differences between how Ferguson and North Minneapolis reacted to police violence and argues that multiple theories are needed for analyzing such protests and finding ways to prevent further violence. Racially charged officer-involved shootings and the demonstrations that follow and can become violent cost the lives of civilians and police officers as well as officers’ careers. Violent protests may cost upwards of millions of dollars in the violence inflicted on people and in the looting/destruction of property. The mass demonstrations of Ferguson, MO ended after many instances of confrontational-violence through the 17 1 Other examples involved Eric Garner in New York City and Freddie Gray in Baltimore. Protests following Garner’s death remained relatively peaceful in NYC, but similar protests in other US cities (e.g., Berkeley) turned violent. See Olivia Laughland, Kayla Epstein, and Jessica Gelnza, “Eric Garner protests continue in cities across America through second night,” The Guardian (December 5, 2014): https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/05/eric-garner-case-new-york-protests-continue-through- second-night. The response after Gray’s funeral began peaceful but experienced aggressive police responses which prompted the demonstrations to turn into riots. See Jenna McLaughlin and Sam Brodey, “Eyewitnesses: The Baltimore Riots Didn’t Start the Way You Think,” Mother Jones (April 28, 2015): https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/04/how-baltimore-riots-began-mondawmin-purge/. 1 days.2 The occupation in North Minneapolis, MN remained peaceful and, largely, did not experience any confrontational violence over the course of 18 days.3 This exploratory study employs secondary research to examine what can be learned by applying seven theories pertaining to the occurrence of protest violence in explaining the differing reactions to police violence experienced in Ferguson and North Minneapolis. My analysis will explore each multi-day incident to illuminate in the protest reactions by utilizing the explanations of three theories focuses on the micro-context,4 three focused on police and protester practices,5 and one theory on the macro-contextual effects of timing and feedback.6 This thesis presents a series of charts (nine total) to illustrate the kinds of theories and ideas analyzed in each section. Each theory (i.e., micro context; police practices and protester interactions; and macro-context) has a chart with varying descriptors dependent to its section. Charts in the Literature Review section showcase each theory’s name, contributing author(s), and core ideas. Charts in the Methodology section showcase each theory’s name as well as the applicable evidence from the case studies. Charts in the Analysis section showcase explanations for each theory’s findings.7 2 See James Queally, “Ferguson unrest: What you need to know,” Los Angeles Times (March 17, 2015): http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-ferguson-unrest-what-you-need-to-know-20150312- htmlstory.html. 3 See Jon Collins, Tim Nelson, and Matt Sepic, “Mpls. Police clear out 4th Precinct protest site,” Minnesota Public Radio News (December 3, 2015): https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/12/03/4th-precinct. 4 Explanations from context theories: ethnic-diversity, community violence, and community/policing culture. 5 Explanations used from practice-based theories: threat/repression,