Back in the day, the IWW and other Unions made sure they had their own good squads at the ready.

Some trouble makers are undercover cops or paid informers, others may just be folks who want to throw a brick at a cop and figure they can get away in the crowd. The goon squad was there to make sure that no one gave the cops an excuse to start busting heads.

The police are always more prepared for violence than protesters. There are always elderly, infirm, or young children marching with us.

There aren't enough pixels to tell if that bracelet has any blue on it. The evidence for wire seems to be a single keyring loop thing. The "cuffs" could just be a tin of chew.

Definitely still look out but idk if this is the best image to match with those captions.

Other things to look for include, holsters at belt and pit level, mechanic or medical gloves, a cheap necklace (could be a badge), large zipties (commonly used as cuffs during protests), eye protection, radio/walkie talkie.

The thin Blue line between the populace and the fascist overlords

Also get in the habit of checking ankles for a holstered pistol

No mask

Also the embroidered Yankees cap. They ALWAYS have a Yankees cap

(Not as a rule though)

Cop, or transmasc bear who's into BSDM?

What's the wire supposed to be?

Always the shoes

In our case, back in 2007, a cop from security police showed up at a protest offering symbolic support to revolting monks in Myanmar (who were crushed, but the situation in Myanmar continues). The demonstration was 100% peaceful.

The guy had a pretty good camera and claimed to be a journalist. He was too invasive, though, and some anarchist had an even better camera. The guy had forgot to remove his ring, issued to graduates of the Interior Defense Academy. Later, he was encountered by chance in the cafeteria of the National Library, across the street from security police HQ. Busted with much fun. :)

Pic here. Article (Estonian language) here.