This weekend my third grader was staying with relatives.  Their house is in an unremarkable subdivision of an unremarkable suburb, less than two miles from the police station, with two police officers living less than a block away.  On Saturday night there was a house party nearby, which spilled outside and turned into something of a riot.  Revelers used bats and clubs to smash up several cars, assault several people, and used plain brute force to push parked cars down the street.  One of the officers living nearby called in a riot with shots fired.  (Turns out there were no shots fired.)  There was a rapid and overwhelming police response.  The rioting and party ended abruptly.  My kid and relatives were unharmed.

Situations like that make me wonder: what's the best way (as a civilian) to curtail this kind of behavior quickly before the police arrive?  I ask this under the assumption that grabbing a shotgun and firing warning shots into the air is verboten.

I'm just wondering about taking quick action in order to minimize property damage and later pains in the ass.

My advice.  Call 911 and report it.  Stay in your house with your rifle, shotgun etc and be a good witness unless one of family members is in physical peril.  Be prepared to repel boarders. Your vehicle is insured. It can be repaired afterwards if it's damaged.  It ain't worth going out in a riot. 

You might get runners if you start yelling COPS! If you can do it safely.

Pepper spray and an axe.

Chainsaw and a ski mask.

Woad and sharp pointy metallic objects

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Caucasian Mountain Shepard ...that's all.

Ive been looking for either one of those or a Black Russian Terrier, They make Pitbulls look like Chihuahuas

Well, there is also the  Vostochnoevropejskaya Ovcharka (East European Shepherd).

No way you have that memorized, you just Googled "bigass dog".

Personally, I would join the rioters and subtly shank whoever came within reach.

I know it from its other name, EES.


In the end, I am glad that I don't live in a riot-y area.

Well, there is also the  Vostochnoevropejskaya Ovcharka (East European Shepherd).

Technically, same breed as the Caucasian Mountain Shepherd.  .   .    .

Yes.  Ovcharka refers to working dogs, typically herding breeds and guard dogs bred for that purpose and sometimes crossbred for purposes known only to their owners.  This resulted in a large and very diverse gene pool which were all referred to generically as "ovcharka".  They can range in size from 80 lbs. to 130 lbs., have longish coats ( usually double layered ) of all color combinations, ears which range from fully erect to fully drooped.  The situation is not very different from that which existed in America in the late 19th century regarding farm dogs/working dogs which were generally recognized but never had a separate distinction as far as breed specifics were concerned.    What you refer to as the Eastern European Shepherd is a relatively recent development and largely an offshoot of the German Shepherd Dog breed which was crossbred with the native ovcharka of the eastern European countries.   

I don't live in a riot-y area, either.  But apparently riot-y areas deliver.

You may think you don't live in a bad neighborhood but bad neighborhoods don't mind traveling to you!



That's no dog, that's a damn bear! I bet one of those would settle a riot PDQ after it ate a few rioters.

Its like the old joke about the guy who saw the folks stealin stuff from his shed called the cops and was told that it would be at least 30 minutes because no one was available, he hung up waited 30 seconds and called back and told them to take their time because he just shot them all dead. 5 minutes later when the cops arrived and arrested they asked him "I thought you said you shot them" He replied "I thought you said no one was available" :-)

I like the grab your rifle hunker down and call the popo plan. Even bigass dogs can get tore up by a buch of folks. And your probably going to get in a serious amount of trouble if you turn one of those mountains of teeth and fur loose on a pack of folks riot or no.

This just reminds me I want to extend my backyard fence out to the front of my property when I buy my own house.

While I agree logically, emotionally lots of people fear big mean dogs. Hence why K9s are very effective in police use, our local K9 officers have lots of good stories about backing down angry angry crowds with just a German Shepard and an officer or two.

Someone on another board that I'm a member of theorized that people have an innate fear of animals that are apex predators in their category. Spiders, snakes, big dogs (think of wolves), sharks, and so on. They might invoke a hardwired survival instinct.

There's also the point that it's a bit like the idea of holding off a mob with a pistol - if they really want to they'll overrun you, but nobody wants to be one of those first few that are definitely going to get shot before you go down.