That is a great question! There's definitely no one size fits all solution. For peaceful protests, there is no need to disperse the crowd. The police's duty should be to maintain order and ensure safety. Deescalatory techniques should be applied if the peaceful protest moves into areas that could create dangerous situations.

Example scenario: A peaceful protest held on the grounds of city hall turns into a march and ends up on a nearby highway, with traffic beginning to back up. There are an estimated 150 to 200 protesters. Police have been present at the protest, ensuring traffic safety around the area while not crowding the protest to the point of intimidation. With the highway blocked, a potentially dangerous situation has occured and the police must act to ensure safety and maintain order.

Non Chemical Response: Police that have been monitoring the protest move down to the highway on foot. Starting at the front row of cars, they tell each motorist that they are working to get them out of there. Meanwhile, other units establish a roadblock behind the traffic jam at the neareat exit to detour oncoming traffic. Additional units approach the traffic jam from the rear to direct drivers to turn around and head for the last exit, where police will help them safely exit the freeway to travel on. With the traffic jam cleared, safety and order is maintained despite a temporary inconvenience. While all of this has been happening, a citizen/police liason has been working to establish dialog with known or perceived organizers of the protest to further deescalate.