WHEN IRISH EYES ARE SMILING:

'Goon squads' ready for protests (Frank Main, November 2, 2002, Chicago Sun-Times)

Fellow cops have dubbed them "goon squads."

But the Chicago Police Department is using a more bureaucratic tag--Special Response Teams--to describe the 6-foot-4 and taller patrol officers selected to collar any violent demonstrators next week during a meeting of international business leaders in Chicago.

About 130 of the towering officers have been picked for the mission, a top department official said. They will cross police lines and wade into the crowd to control any dangerous activity, the official said.

"They're our ace in the hole," the official said.

One of my fondest memories from childhood is of the Chicago Police Department wading into the swinish demonstrators in 1968. Posted by Orrin Judd at November 2, 2002 10:11 AM