It’s possible that the streets of Chicago will be peaceful during the NATO summit Sunday and Monday. If that’s the case, you may not hear any of these protest-related terms in news reports. But the tactics and tools below have been associated with contentious demonstrations elsewhere:
Kettling or corralling: The police tactic of keeping protesters bottled up for hours behind a cordon of officers, sometimes with no way to leave and no access to food, water or toilets. Kettling was used at the G-20 meeting in London in April 2009 and prompted legal challenges. But British police won a key court ruling this past January.
Lachrymatory agent: Technical term for “tear gas” and pepper spray. These substances are legally used by U.S. law enforcement and some citizens under specific circumstances, though they are banned as weapons of war under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, signed by the U.S. and scores of other nations.
Snatch squad: A group of police who target and arrest specific protesters, sometimes while undercover.
LRAD: A long-range acoustic device, also known as a sonic cannon. This device projects sound across longer distances than a regular loudspeaker. It is used to warn protesters and, if those warnings are unheeded, can be used to deliver piercing noises. LRAD technology has fended off pirates at sea, and it pushed back protesters in Pittsburgh for the G-20 meeting in September 2009.
Pepperballs: Paintball-like projectiles that can be fired from a gun or launcher to deliver pepper spray from a distance.
Scent tracking: Before Germany hosted the 2007 G-8 summit, authorities collected the sweat of jailed radicals to help sniffer dogs identify them at demonstrations.
Beanbag round: A projectile made of lead shot inside a fabric bag that is fired from a shotgun and designed to temporarily incapacitate but not seriously injure a rioter. Despite that aim, a beanbag round is believed to have caused severe injuries to Iraq War veteran Scott Olsen at an Occupy Oakland protest last fall.
Turtle suit: Police outerwear that includes a Kevlar vest or other body armor.
Snake march: When Canada hosted the 2002 G-8 summit, protesters disrupted Calgary’s traffic by marching along an unpredictable route, as if they were a snake. Police exercised restraint, and the protest was nonviolent.
Sources: “The Policing of Transnational Protest” by Donatella Della Porta, Abby Peterson and Herbert Reiter; The Guardian; dictionary.reference.com; wired.com; New Yorker; baycitizen.org