The curfew was certainly a very valuable tool to us because the curfew provides the police and the Military, if they are on duty, the provision that is needed to get people off the streets. Of course, in a large city, with many hundreds of thousands of people who live in it and are in it every day working or as visitors, without some kind of control over the movement of people on the streets, it is very difficult, especially at night, to prevent all looting, even with thousands of troops and National Guardsmen supplementing the regular Police force.

Like you, Congressman, I agree that we have to think awfully long and hard about just how far we want to go with increasing our Police force and what kind of additional talent, if any, we might want to give to our Police Department; because in my view, the manner in which the people in our kind of society police themselves and really, that is very much what the system-it is a system of policing by the people themselves, using the Police as their tool, I think to the extent that we accept that system, which I think is a fine system-we do begin to move toward the kind of Government control and even the Police State that has never been a part of our tradition in this nation.

Mr. DIGGS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Dowdy. I might comment that I have heard very few complaints about the Police. The complaints I have heard have not been about the actions of the Police, but have been of the undue restraints that were put upon the Police in their attempts to enforce the law and preserve order.

Where have we got to?

Mr. Horton.

Mr. HORTON. Mr. Commissioner, yesterday you spoke at length in regard to the several disturbances, and I had the impression that Chief Layton was prepared to make some comments. At this point, at least, I haven't heard any comments from him.

I would like to ask Chief Layton if you have anything you would like to add to the testimony which was given yesterday with regard to the disturbances of early April?

Chief LAYTON. Mr. Horton, as the disturbance developed on the evening of April 4, it first began with some group at around 14th and U Streets. The violence that attended this didn't begin until later in the evening, first, with a window-breaking at one of a couple of places.

We had, at the first news of Dr. King's shooting and then his death, had sent out messages by Teletype to the Force to be alert for any developments on the streets. Then the group at around 14th and U was the first indication.

We did, at one of the decisive points that was available, there on the street in No. 13 Precinct-we had a detail of 100 officers who were sent from the location of the detail at the Washington Hilton Hotelwere sent to the area that was concerned after the crowd began building up.

So that we had 100 additional officers who were sent there.

Mr. HORTON. Did you participate in the decisions with regard to the mobilization of the Force, or was this something done by the Commissioner without your knowledge, or with your knowledge-how was it handled?

Chief LAYTON. I participated in the decisions that were made, Mr. Horton. The early decision to send the 100 men there-I wasn't imme

diately available at that time. I was at a location nearby and I was reached by telephone when the numbers of people began developing, and so the first decision to move the 100 officers there was not mine, but I would have agreed with it.

Later decisions, I did participate in.

The next decision that was made was to assemble our Civil Disturbance Unit. We have members of the Civil Disturbance Unit assigned to the various units so that they are on duty three tours of duty.

These Civil Disturbance Unit men, then, were drawn from the units in which they are ordinarily assigned and assembled to be deployed in that area that is affected. About the same time, a directive was issued to all the precincts, not to release any of the men working at 4:00 p.m. to midnight tour of duty until further orders were given.

Very shortly thereafter, a directive went out to recall, or have the midnight section, the section working midnight to 8:00 a.m., report in as soon as possible.

In the early stages, there was not the kind of widespread looting that we had on Friday afternoon and evening, but it was a matter of window-breaking and some stealing of merchandise and running, before Police officers could be deployed on the scene.

In any event, the effort was to build up the Force along 14th Street and to bring back into control.

TROOPS

Mr. HORTON. Did there come a time during the evening of April 4 that you made any recommendations to the Commissioner, one way or the other, with regard to the mobilization or the calling in of National Guard or Army Forces?

Chief LAYTON. I would say not, during my recollection is that we didn't discuss that specifically during the evening, late hours of April 4th, but the early hours of April 5 we had some discussion of it.

Following that discussion, Mr. Murphy went to a meeting at the Pentagon about 3:00 o'clock.

Mr. HORTON. Three a.m.?

Chief LAYTON. Three a.m., yes, sir.

Mr. HORTON. Was that in accordance with your recommendations? Had you agreed with him in regard to calling at that point for Federal Forces?

Chief LAYTON. This wasn't a specific recommendation, Mr. Horton, that National Guard troops be requested at that time. This was—and it wasn't a specific recommendation of mine-this was a matter of discussion, as we had about a number of things, a number of tactics, that it was one that the purpose of Mr. Murphy's going to the Pentagon then was to report the situation as we saw it and to refine the procedures for calling out troops if that was necessary.

Actually, by 3:00 o'clock in the morning, by that time we had called back all of our off-duty personnel. We had better than 2500 men reporting back. So that by 3:00 in the morning, the number of cases that were being reported was declining, and it continued to decline with that large force that we had available at that time-declined until about 7:00 o'clock. It was back to a normal rate of incidents reported to the Police.

It remained at a normal level compared with the same day a month previously, stayed at that level until about 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon. Prior to that, about the late hours of Friday morning, 11:00, 12:00 o'clock, we began getting reports of further window-breaking and other things of the same character, but the frequency did not go above the normal level for a month previous until about 1:00 o'clock.

POLICY IN EFFECT

Mr. HORTON. Now, Chief, it has been alleged that there were orders that the Police should not use any force and instead give it the "light touch."

Did you have any such orders, or did you have any instructions which were different from the instructions of the Public Safety Director?

You heard his testimony yesterday.

Chief LAYTON. No, sir. There were no instructions given to the Force to fail to arrest looters. Actually, it is our policy, which as other cities have been hit by riots and disturbances, we have attempted to gain experience from discussing this kind of problem with officials in other cities and with seminars and meetings, and various kinds of other police officials in preparation for this.

I, myself, said, in briefing my staff, my top level staff, early last year, that it was our policy to positively arrest looters to the extent that it is humanly possible to do, recognizing that in a situation of this kind where there are large numbers of people involved and serious law violations, that it is more than officers can cope with.

But I had said to our officials that I expected them to arrest looters if we should be unfortunate here in the District-so unfortunate as to have something of this kind happen. I wanted ever officer to make arrests to the fullest extent that it was possible for him to do.

So that our policy is one of positively making arrests in this kind of situation.

Mr. HORTON. Were there any special instructions to any of the officers under your command, either by you or the Public Safety Director, that they should play it with a "light touch", or that they should or should not arrest violators?

Chief LAYTON. There was positively no directive or order, or in any way, to members of the Force not to arrest looters. I have no knowledge of any statement being made as you inquire, "Give it a light touch." There was a period of time during the evening on April 4 where we were assembling forces there to move up 14th Street to disperse the crowds when there were more people there than the men readily available could handle effectively.

But we assembled the officers and vehicles and transported them to that scene. When there was a sufficient number of officers there, they did move forward. The specific orders that were given to those officers were to arrest, to make arrests. This was the assembling of our Civil Disturbance Unit, which the order went out a little after 10:00 o'clock.

As I say, they were placed in the vehicles and went to the scene. They were given specific instructions that they were to follow our instructions of making arrests.

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Mr. HORTON. Now, you heard yesterday that the Commissioner testified that the policy that was in effect at the time of the disturbances was the policy which you had announced and which you were following.

Chief LAYTON. Yes, sir.

Mr. HORTON. Do you have any comment to make with regard to the policy, or whether or not there was any change in the policy prior to the disturbances after the Safety Director came to Washington?

Chief LAYTON. No, sir. I have not been given any directives to change that policy, as I have stated here.

Mr. HORTON. Yesterday there was reference here to the Police Chief of Miami and his policies. Do you have any comment with regard to the seeming difference between handling disorders in Miami and the handling of the disorders that occurred here in Washington!

Chief LAYTON. Well, frankly, I only know, Mr. Horton, about the comments that were attributed to Chief Hedley in the newspaper.

As to shootings-it has been stated to our officers also that the policy that we follow in the Metropolitan Police Department is that which is set out in the law. The lawful authority is that a police officer is granted to use his service revolver, has been the same for many years, and continues to be the same.

So that during the period of the disturbance, our officers had the same legal authority that was not infringed upon in any respect. They had the same legal authority to use their revolvers in a situation that called for it, and which was justified, as they have always had.

PROSECUTION OF OFFENDERS

Mr. HORTON. One further question that has to do with the followup on those who were arrested. In many of the civil disturbances elsewhere there has been a delay in bringing people to justice. What is the status of the people who were arrested here, following the arrest?

Chief LAYTON. Well, I think, Mr. Horton, this is one of the areas particularly where we gain from the experience in some other city as to the numbers that frequently are necessary to handle in a situation of this kind, the tremendous numbers of defendants.

We have made plans ahead of time in cooperation with the Justice Department, the United States Attorney's office, the courts, and our own Department of Corrections. A number of meetings have been held and plans have been developed that made it possible for us to handle large numbers of arrests a good deal more expeditiously than I think was true in any other city of which I am aware.

Mr. HORTON. I would like to ask the U.S. Attorney, Mr. Bress, what has been done subsequent to the disturbances in regard to bringing those arrested to justice, and how it is determined one way or the other? Some 8,000 were arrested.

Mr. BRESS. There were approximately 1,000 felony charges of the 8,000 you referred to, Mr. Horton. I understand that about 4,000 were curfew arrests, and those persons were taken to Occoquan and released the following day with citations. But on the felony arrests, there were approximately 1,000.

I can give you figures as of the moment, as to the status of those cases. There are approximately 440 cases remaining for preliminary

hearings in the General Sessions Court. That is, hearing on the felony cases that is frequently held by a Committee Magistrate.

None of these cases went to the Commission. Of the remaining cases that have gone to the United States District Court after preliminary hearing in which defendants were held for action of a Grand Jury, we have already presented approximately 200 cases to the Grand Jury and there are a number of cases in the District Court now awaiting Grand Jury action.

When the riotous condition ended on April 8th, I made the request to the Court of April 10th for a special Grand Jury to be convened for the purpose of hearing the great number of felony cases that we had then in jail or on bail. That Grand Jury was convened and started holding hearings on April 23rd and has been hearing approximately 20 to 25 cases daily since that time.

I have special assistants assigned solely to the hearing of the cases arising out of the disturbance.

Mr. DOWDY. Have there been any indictments returned as a result of this?

Mr. BRESS. No indictment has yet been returned. The first batch of indictments will be returned on this coming Monday or Tuesday, and weekly thereafter, or twice weekly thereafter, indictments as a result of this incident, will be coming forward.

Mr. HORTON. I have nothing further.

Mr. Dowdy. Before we get to another Committee member-I assume that the Police Department has been advised of the demands that started yesterday on stores, that they close up on Monday, May 20, to honor the birthday of Malcolm X. You all are acquainted with that, I assume?

Mr. MURPHY. I am aware that there are flyers in the community and a group has announced that they will attempt-they will request stores and schools to close, yes, sir.

Mr. DowDY. Under demand. Demanding that they close or probably get burned out if they don't. Are you all doing anything about that? Mr. MURPHY. Yes, sir.

Mr. Dowdy. Are you going to take steps to prevent rioting on Monday if those people don't close, or are you going to let them start before you do anything about it, as was done here a few weeks ago? Mr. MURPHY. No, sir.

Mr. DowDY. You are not going to do anything about it?

Mr. MURPHY. We are. We are not going to fail to do anything about it. As with any information we get, Mr. Chairman, about any anticipated trouble or problem, many precautionary steps are taken by the Department. Special efforts are made to learn about the plans, the size of the group, if there would be a demonstration.

We have people already assigned investigating any of this activity. Mr. DowDY. Do you have enough people assigned to it to prevent an outbreak on Monday?

Mr. MURPHY. We feel that we are well prepared, Congressman. Frequently, groups

Mr. DowDY. Are you as well prepared as you were for this other recent outbreak?

Mr. MURPHY. As well prepared?

Mr. Dowdy. As you were for the outbreak two or three weeks ago?