C.D.U – Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police

Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police

Civil Disturbance Unit

Some Early Training For Crowd Control

1948

The C.D.U. was comprised of each and every member of the Special Operations Division, (S.O.D.), augmented by selected uniformed members from police districts who also received C.D.U. training, and passed the S.O.D. / C.D.U. weapons qualifications. C.D.U. is activated for any event where civil unrest was about to, or did occur and certain other events. For example, C.D.U. was activated for Inaugurations, but uniforms for that were traditional M.P.D. uniforms, not the C.D.U. uniform. An officer with the C.D.U. / S.O.D. can be called out at any time and ordered to report. Tours of duty for C.D.U. activation were typically 12 hours. Under normal circumstances when the C.D.U. was activated S.O.D. would report in the C.D.U. uniform and not the traditional M.P.D. uniform. Also when C.D.U. was activated, the old clothes officers were almost always left in their attire, and were assigned to intelligence gathering duties, working in the crowds, attempting to identify leaders, plans, destinations and routes. Old clothes officers called S.O.D. communications, Vice the Communication Division directly with this information, and did not approach uniformed officers with this information. C.D.U. crowd control was to move crowds with a line of officers marching forward, use of a sound truck, pepper foggers, gas, and only if necessary, mass arrests (A.H.-C).

This prototype logo was intended to be placed on the side of the helmets of the C.D.U. members. For some reason the upper ranks didn’t agree?? Does anyone know who made this design ?

C.D.U. range training was twice or three times yearly, and held outdoors at Lorton Prison, Lorton, VA. which was owned by the District of Columbia. Regular police officers range qualifications were held annually, pistol only, and initially were held in the basement of police headquarters. Although C.D.U. had both CS and NS gas, CN was never used, or used in training – the other name for CN gas is sickness gas- it enables one to only lay down and be “sick”. When the officer passed gas handling and use, the officer was issued a rectangular brass uniformed badge, with smaller M.P.D.C. replica badge in the center of the rectangle, saying “Special Chemical Weapons Division”. (A.H.-C.)

Some of Today's C.D.U. in Action

Come on, what fool would walk into this and not expect a beat down?

Only a fool would not turn and walk the other way…

How many Americans died to stop this walk, and this idiot thinks it’s cool…

Right about now this kid must be wishing he stayed home at his mommy’s today.

If this guy REALLY wanted peace, he wouldn’t still be here at this point

Just some clarification about the C.D.U. The C.D.U. was formed many years before the S.O.D. The C.D.U. Officers were drawn from each precinct and headquarters, (uniformed officers only). Later when the S.O.D. was first being formed up it was decided they would all fall under the umbrella of the S.O.D.

November 29th, 2010

Mask Wearing at a protest can now be arrested !

The Washington D.C. council has unanimously passed a strongly worded bill to deal with an animal rights group that has been known to wear masks and appear unannounced outside district’s residents homes shouting things like, “You should die”. Residents have been complaining to their council that they feel terrorized. Critic’s of the bill say it’s to bad and limits First Amendment Rights. “They have scared some people so much that they have felt like prisoners in their own homes”. said Ward three Councilwomen Mary Cheh, who sponsored the Resident tranquility Act of 2010.

1971 and M.P.D. Officers and some of their gear