Police can retaliate against mayors by refusing to police city events

Evidence

So in May, on the first night of the Virada Cultural, a downtown music festival meant to showcase his vision for the city, they apparently responded with “crossed arms”—that is, they refused to do any policing during the event. I attended. It was absolute pandemonium. My apartment has a balcony overlooking one of the stages, and we watched the band Raça Negra perform live before heading downstairs to check things out. It was as if the military police had asked every small-time criminal in town to put on their best show. — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 365

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Supports the policing/repression dynamics relevant to understanding state capacity in protest contexts, complementing the protest mechanics chapters of this book.
• XREF: connects to: A mayor can lack power he nominally holds when confronted by a powerful rival. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 39; Police kettling functions to punish and deter protest rather than keep order; Urban police forces originated partly to suppress class rebellion — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 1119

Broader Connections

• A mayor can lack power he nominally holds when confronted by a powerful rival. #exemplifies (0.82) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 39
• Police kettling functions to punish and deter protest rather than keep order #corroborates (0.78)
• Urban police forces originated partly to suppress class rebellion #expands (0.72) — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 1119