Baton charge
 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
(Learn how and when to remove this template message)
|
A baton charge is a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people, usually used by police or military during public order situations.
The tactic involves police officers charging at a crowd of people with batons and in some cases, riot shields. They run at the crowd hitting people with their batons, and in some situations use riot shields to push them away. Baton charging is designed to cause pain or fear of pain, in the hope that they would be compelled to move away from the scene, dispersing the crowd.
Contents
South Asia[edit]
In India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, a baton would often be referred to as a lathi. Some Indian police forces use lathis around 5 ft long, but in other places lathis are shorter. The term lathi charge is used on the Indian media more commonly than "baton charge".[1] The tactic is controversial among human rights campaigners[who?] due to the violence involved.[citation needed]
Hong Kong[edit]
In the 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests, the police special unit Special Tactical Squad used the same tactics and was criticized that they used excessive force against the crowd and the journalists in order to break up the protest.[2]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Police lathi charge protesters Times of India-Retrieved 29 July 2010
- ^ Hong Kong police attack journalists with batons, tear gas amid protests Committee to Protect Journalists-Retrieved 15 June 2019
 | This law enforcement–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
