After protesters finished the Halloween sweep of residential protests on Halloween in DC ( http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=408_1351809861) , they attempted to withdraw through the heart of Georgetown, only to run into police pens used to keep the partygoers from taking over the streets they way they used to in the old days. Cops read out the first of three warnings required for a mass arrest at 10:41 PM. This could have caused hundreds, even thousands of ordinary Halloween partygoers who were not part of the protest and did not know police procedeure to panic. That could have caused a deadly stampede like incidents in concerts or arenas where something went wrong.

This time everyone was lucky. Either the partiers did not hear the warning or did not take the cops seriously, and no stampede ensued,the protesters themselves were able to walk away. Had things gone bad, the DC Police could have had blood on their hands. Not by brutality, just by stupidity. A dense crowd of civilians is NOT the place for police to engage protesters!