[General Canterbury]: -and he has the right to protect himself.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, you said that there was one single shot at first, followed by others which were fired by Guardsmen. Are you saying then that you don’t know who fired the first shot?

[General Canterbury]: That’s what I’m saying. I don’t know where the first shot came from.

[Unidentified Speaker]: They were saying there was a composite of units up there. Which units were these? And how many men are we talking about?

[General Canterbury]: We’re talking about a hundred men.

[Unidentified Speaker]: A hundred men.

[General Canterbury]: Talking about a group of a hundred men who were from G Troop, and F Troop, 107th Armored Cav. and from A Company, 145th Infant.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Who commanded these troops? Direct command? Company commander, captain?

[General Canterbury]: Well, each element is commanded by its company commander.

[Unidentified Speaker]: A hundred troops ([unintelligible, 00:00:57]). We have lieutenants up there or captains, or what?

[General Canterbury]: We have Captains, we have Lieutenants, we have Majors, and we had a regular General up there.

[Unidentified Speaker]: But right at the scene of the shooting?

[General Canterbury]: That is correct.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Who did it? The General–which Brigadier General was that?

[General Canterbury]: Me.

[Unidentified Speaker]: You. And you gave the order to withdraw?

[General Canterbury]: That is correct.

[Unidentified Speaker]: At what time? Do you know what time that was? Exact time?

[General Canterbury]: Approximately two o’clock.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Sir, as a military man, how would you characterize that situation at that moment when you told your troops to withdraw?

[General Canterbury]: I would like to, rather than characterize to withdrawal, I would characterize it as return to the Commons which was our intent to begin with.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Now what was your plan there at the Commons? To regroup?

[General Canterbury]: That is correct. Our only purpose was to disperse the crowd at that point.

[Unidentified Speaker]: What, you know the tear gas you’re firing, you firing M-79s or you throwing hand grenades?

[General Canterbury]: They were firing M-79s.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Was the firing gun from a standing or a kneeling position, General?

[General Canterbury]: I believe that some of them may have been both positions.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Which firing? The firing of the tear gas or the firing of the actual shooting rounds?

[General Canterbury]: The shooting.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Into the crowd?

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, in terms of firing, how much tear gas was available to the troops?

[General Canterbury]: We had–they had their basic load, which was a Reach M79 Man. about four to five rounds.

[Unidentified Speaker]: At the time of the firing, I mean, they could have still called on additional tear gas to disperse the crowd.

[General Canterbury]: No, we had exhausted every-

[Unidentified Speaker]: You had exhausted-

[General Canterbury]: -yeah, every tear gas round.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Was the Army, were they surrounded by students, on both sides, the four sides, three sides?

[General Canterbury]: When we exhausted our supply of tear gas, these people were closing in on all three, on three sides.

[Unidentified Speaker]: The building being the fourth side?
 
[General Canterbury]: The building, well, between the buildings being the fourth side, were also people there. We were moving.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, is that four to five hundred rounds of tear gas?

[General Canterbury]: Oh, no, no. I would say that this group probably had a hundred and fifty to two hundred rounds of tear gas.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, what was your personal reaction when you heard the shots (unintelligible [00:03:15])?
 
[General Canterbury]: The same as yours. I regret it very much that we had an occasion where it was necessary to fire.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, I heard–had one student tell me that he heard an order to  pivot and fire. Did you send an order like that to your officers at all?

[General Canterbury]: I certainly didn’t.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, did you withdraw because you were out of tear gas, because you thought you had the whole thing under control, and the crowd was dispersed?

[General Canterbury]: We felt that we had accomplished our purpose. The crowd was basically dispersed at that point.

[Unidentified Speaker]: You were not going back up again? You were not coming back here to get more tear gas?

[General Canterbury]: No. No, we had no intention of going back at that point unless the crowd formed again.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Well, then you believed it was under control. Did you not?

[General Canterbury]: No. I didn’t. I felt that the crowd in all likelihood would form again, but I felt we had accomplished the purpose that we had gone up the hill to begin with.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, we encountered one student that said she was–that was on her way leaving the campus, said that she had gone over to assist one of the wounded students and while she was kneeling down helping the student, the Guardsmen turned and fired upon her. She felt the concrete splashing up and hitting–

[General Canterbury]: I would doubt this because all the firing was completed in a matter of two to three seconds. I think it would have been impossible for anyone to move to the–to someone, to a casualty, and had an additional round come at them. The entire period was a matter of two or three seconds.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, do you know whether or not that first shot was fired by a Guardsmen?

[General Canterbury]: I do not know.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, what type of rifle were the Guardsmen carrying?

[General Canterbury]: M-1 rifles.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, is it true that any individual Guardsmen, when he felt his life was threatened, could on his own initiative, fire his weapon?

[General Canterbury]: This is always the case. Any soldier under those conditions has a right to protect his own life and they are so instructed.

[Unidentified Speaker]: So, it was totally up to the individual whether or not he wanted to shoot or not. He did not have to wait for an order to be given? Any member of the Guard could have shot at any time on his own individual assumption that his life–

[General Canterbury]: Under conditions where he can justify that his life is in danger.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Did those conditions exist today?

[General Canterbury]: The conditions were extremely violent. I think there was danger that our people could have been killed. Yes, I do.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, will there be any attempt made to entertain which Guardsmen fired where? Who was responsible for the deaths?

[General Canterbury]: Our investigation will try to show number one, which Guardsmen fired. Number two, who made the hits. And number three, the total fired by each of these individuals.

[Unidentified Speaker]: From your past experience, what success do you feel you’ll have in ascertaining, [completing?] this investigation?

[General Canterbury]: Oh, I think we’ll have reasonable success. We know now who fired all the shots.

[Unidentified Speaker]: How many men fired the shots, if you know now? How many different men fired the shots?

[General Canterbury]: Well, this will be part of the complete investigation which will come at a later time. We have an Inspector General on this at this point.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, were you close enough to the action to have heard if someone would’ve given an order to fire yourself? We seem to be hearing from several witnesses, many kids, who say that there was some kind of an order given.

[General Canterbury]: I don’t think an order was given and I was close enough to the action. I think I would’ve known.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, what’s the status of the campus now? Is anyone permitted on the campus at all, other than Guardsmen and state patrolmen?

[General Canterbury]: The campus, at this point, up until 8pm, people are allowed to travel to campus. At 8pm, the curfew goes into effect and at that point, they will not be allowed to travel to campus.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, how many National Guardsmen are on campus right now?

[General Canterbury]: Approximately 800.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Did any new ones move in after the incident? Bring any more troops in?

[General Canterbury]: Not after the incident. They were on the way–they were moving in prior to and during the incident.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Who are these troops? What do you know?

[General Canterbury]: The entire second squadron of the 107th Armored Cav. I ticked off two units earlier.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Right. Is that out of Shaker Heights?

[General Canterbury]: That’s out of the Akron-Canton area and the entire First Battalion, 145th Infantry.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Parents coming to campus will be able to take their youngsters home throughout the evening if this is their mission?

[General Canterbury]: If they come to the campus to take people home, we certainly will help them accomplish this mission.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Even if it’s after the eight o’clock–

[General Canterbury]: Even if it’s after the eight o’clock curfew.

[Unidentified Speaker]: What will the procedure be there, sir? They’re blocking the roads at this point and all entrances of Kent.

[General Canterbury]: I recognize this and we’re into an area that’s primary the responsibility of the administration here.

[Unidentified Speaker]: What kind of liaison do you have with the administration?

[General Canterbury]: We’re at the end of the telephone.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Will the entire city of Kent be in a curfew or just the university?

[General Canterbury]: The entire city of Kent will be in a curfew.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, these 800 men, what cities do they come from? What cities are the units from?

[General Canterbury]: Units come from the Akron-Canton Airport, Ravenna, Canton, Massillon, Barberton, and Lakewood, and from Akron, and Wooster.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Are any of these units the same units who were called up during the (unintelligible [00:09:12])?

[General Canterbury]: Yes.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, isn’t each Guardsman issued so many rounds of ammunition?

[General Canterbury]: That is correct.

[Unidentified Speaker]: So all you’d have to do is check their–whatever they turn in against what they were issued to know how many rounds they fired?

[General Canterbury]: That is correct and we have accomplished this.

[Unidentified Speaker]: How many rounds were issued to each Guardsman, General?

[General Canterbury]: Eight rounds.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, earlier, they said it was an individual’s choice basis on how many rounds the Guardsmen carried with them. You just said everybody had eight rounds.

[General Canterbury]: This was the average.

[Unidentified Speaker]: But I mean, they couldn’t, some could have had a dozen, right?

[General Canterbury]: No, we would’ve known. I think the point that I would like to make, if he had eight or a dozen, we would’ve known what was charged to each Guardsman by name.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, eight is an average?

[General Canterbury]: That’s correct.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, did the Guardsmen carry any of their own personal weapons?

[General Canterbury]: No.

[Unidentified Speaker]: All the weapons they have are military, are issued to them?

[General Canterbury]: That is correct.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Even the officers?

[General Canterbury]: Even the officers.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, is a revolver an issued weapon?

[General Canterbury]: Yes.

[Unidentified Speaker]: There was no warning giving the intention to fire was there?

[General Canterbury]: No.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Why is that?

[General Canterbury]: Because the situation didn’t allow for any warning time.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, what prevents the possibility of the Guardsmen having a few rounds of his own ammunition.

[General Canterbury]: We have procedures which  prohibit this.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, would you answer this question, I don’t know whether it’s pertinent, but would you say that the emotional atmosphere there would explain why they fired?

[General Canterbury]: I would say that the emotional atmosphere there was charged and it had the potential of anything happening.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, have you spoken to the people who (unintelligible [00:11:06]).

[General Canterbury]: Not personally.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Do you have any indication what they have said happened just before this firing occurred?

[General Canterbury]: No. We’re getting this in statement form and these statements will be part of the completed investigation. Well, thank you very much.

[Breaking in the Recording]

[General Canterbury]: -announced the release of approximately 400 National Guardsmen from the Kent University campus effective tomorrow morning and coincidental with that, the modification of the existing curfew to starting at 10pm tonight and then, ending at 6am tomorrow morning. At this point, I’d be glad to answer any questions.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, can you tell us whether or not you have yet learned whether anyone did give an order to fire, and if so, who, and weren’t you there?

[General Canterbury]: I was there. There was no order to fire.

[Unidentified Speaker]: What about a sniper, sir?

[General Canterbury]: We have still not confirmed a sniper.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General Del Corso in Columbus has ruled out the possibility of a sniper.

[General Canterbury]: Would you please phrase that one again.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General Del Corso,  in an interview in Columbus has ruled out the possibility of a sniper.

[General Canterbury]: I think that General Del Corso’s position is the same as mine. We know that there’s every possibility that the troops were shot at. We have been unable to confirm.

[Unidentified Speaker]: What evidence do you have?

[General Canterbury]: I’d rather not go into that at this point, it’s being investigated.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, the Guard is authorized to fire if their lives are in danger. Is rock throwing considered such a danger?

[General Canterbury]: Considering the size of the rocks, and the proximity of those people throwing them, I would suggest in this case, their lives were in danger.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Were they ordered to fire in the air before shooting to kill?

[General Canterbury]: They were not ordered to fire at all.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Who was in charge there, General?

[General Canterbury]: I think that basically, I was in charge.

[Unidentified Speaker]: You were in charge of the troops?

[General Canterbury]: I’m not a direct troop commander, gentlemen. However, I was there.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Sir, do you think that the response of the Guard, what happened, what the students were doing, was justified?

[General Canterbury]: Do I feel that the shooting was justified?

[Unidentified Speaker]: The consequences of it, sir?

[General Canterbury]: Obviously, when four people lose their lives and nine are injured, the consequences are never justified and I don’t think you can approach it in those terms. I do think you have to approach it in terms of the lives of the Guardsmen that was being jeopardized. This is the only justification.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, couldn’t the Guardsmen have used the butts of their rifles and their bayonets rather than shooting into a crowd?

[General Canterbury]: Yes. Except in this instance, you have to keep in mind there was several hundred rioters and there isn’t any question at all that in all probability they could have been overrun.

[Unidentified Speaker]: (multiple voices) How far away was the troops from the rioters, General?

[General Canterbury]: I think the nearest rioters were probably within the distance of ten or twelve feet at that time.

[Unidentified Speaker]: How many Guardsmen fired?

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, can you tell us who issued the cease fire order and how they determined the lives of the Guardsmen were no longer in danger?

[General Canterbury]: When the shooting took place, the rioters started to disperse and all the officers on the line immediately implemented the cease fire.

[Unidentified Speaker]: With what has happened, if there should be another campus disturbance in Ohio, would you recommend the calling out of National Guard troops again?

[General Canterbury]: I certainly would.

[Unidentified Speaker]: In the event of a situation–

[General Canterbury]: I’d like to amplify on this. The National Guard at this point, is perhaps the only resource available to quell campus disturbances. Now, the highway patrol is available, but they do not have the numbers to deal with this type of problem.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Do you think the Guardsmen can deal with as complicated and difficult an issue as this, as well as let’s say, federal troops, full-time?

[General Canterbury]: I think they can deal with it equally as well as federal.

[Multiple voices speaking at once]

[Unidentified Speaker]: The Guard has gone in with rifles that were not loaded. Why were they loaded this time?

[General Canterbury]: The standard operating procedures for the Ohio National Guard is to make it clear publicly and to go in with weapons loaded. In all previous riots in this state, this has acted as a deterrent and I think it’s contributed to a small number of casualties.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Were the students informed that the rifles were loaded?

[General Canterbury]: Not specifically before they started up the hill.

[Multiple voices speaking over each other]

[Unidentified Speaker]: What were the students told?

[General Canterbury]: I think that the– it’s been well-documented in the news media throughout the state that when the National Guard are committed to a civil disturbance, that they go in with their weapons loaded.

[Multiple voices speaking over each other]

[Unidentified Speaker]: How many Guardsmen were injured by rocks?

[General Canterbury]: Every Guardsman up there was hit by rocks.

[Unidentified Speaker]: How many were up there?

[General Canterbury]: Approximately one hundred.

[Unidentified Speaker]: How would you describe the injuries?

[General Canterbury]: This morning in checking this thing out, almost every one of them carry bruises of some type of–

[Multiple voices speaking over each other]

[Unidentified Speaker]: How many are hospitalized?

[General Canterbury]: Two at this point.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Hospitalized with shock? Heat prostration?

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, were you hit by rocks?

[General Canterbury]: Gentlemen, if we could have one question at a time, I can hear better.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Were they hospitalized with shock, rather than–


[Unidentified Speaker]: General, were you hit by rocks? And did you issue an order to cease fire?

[General Canterbury]: All officers issued an order to cease fire.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Including yourself?

[General Canterbury]: Including myself.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Was there panic on the part of the Guardsmen?

[General Canterbury]: I don’t think there was panic on the part of Guardsmen. I think it was a judgment.

[Unidentified Speaker]: How many guns–

[Unidentified Speaker]: What was the judgment of the officers?


[Unidentified Speaker]: Gentlemen, can we have maybe a raising of hands and the General will point to someone and try to-

[Unidentified Speaker]: How many guardsman (unintelligible [00:17:57])

[General Canterbury]: At this point, our investigation indicates sixteen or seventeen.

[Unidentified Speaker]: How many rounds?

[General Canterbury]: A total of thirty-five rounds.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Were blanks fired first?

[General Canterbury]: We do not carry blanks.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Did any officers fire?

[Unidentified Speaker]: Sir, hands, please.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Did these troops, are they permitted to fire on their own if they feel that they are in danger?

[General Canterbury]: Not under normal conditions. Under normal conditions, an order to fire is given. However, under these conditions, there wasn’t a normal sequence.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Do you think they used bad judgment, is that what you meant before, sir?

[General Canterbury]: No, that isn’t what I meant.

[Unidentified Speaker]: What did you mean by that?

[General Canterbury]: I meant that each man made a judgment on his own, if his own life was in danger.

[Unidentified Speaker]: How would you characterize that judgment?

[General Canterbury]: I would characterize that judgment as one made by each individual. I am unable, and unwilling to try to go through the mental process of an individual at that time.

[Unidentified Speaker]: As a National Guard General, do you think the judgment was–

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, I have heard that the National Guard manual on riot control specifies that live ammunition is not to be fired except from the order of officers, (unintelligible[00:19:13]) aim to wound, not to kill. Is that a correct phrasing of the riot manual?

[General Canterbury]: I don’t think you're entirely correct. I do think however that under normal conditions, that an officer usually directs troops to fire.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Would you say though that the conditions (unintelligible [00:19:31]) precluded the requirement of officers giving the order?

[General Canterbury]: I would say that the situation yesterday, which individuals fired, was based on their decision.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Did the Guard do anything to help calm the students after the shootings?

[General Canterbury]: I would like to point out that while the crowd dispersed temporarily, there were still several hundred of them up there and they immediately closed in and around the fallen students. When we returned to the Commons, we immediately dispatched ambulances to evaluate the wounded.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, have any Guardsmen been suspended or have any units been replaced by other units?

[General Canterbury]: No Guardsman has been suspended. No units have been replaced. The investigation is in process and we will continue to have the people here so that we can conduct the investigation properly.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Wouldn’t it have made more sense to fire warning shots before firing directly into the crowd? Wouldn’t that act as a deterrent (unintelligible [00:20:45])?

[General Canterbury]: There’s some question about the advisability of firing warning shots. Most of the police departments throughout do not believe that this is a good practice.

[Unidentified Speaker]: They do not, sir? Did you say?

[Unidentified Speaker]: Why?

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, did any of the students, as far as you know, have guns?

[General Canterbury]: I will not comment on that point at this time.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, have these units been used in previous riot actions? (unintelligible [00:21:15])

[General Canterbury]: This is correct. Some of these units have been used frequently in previous riots and we have no complaint with their actions.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, who is conducting the investigation? Is it a military body or a civilian body?

[General Canterbury]: I suspect that there may be more than one investigation. The one that I referred to earlier was being investigated by the Inspector General.

[Unidentified Speaker]: (unintelligible [00:21:51])

[General Canterbury]: Action will be taken against anyone we feel that acted negligently.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Did any officers fire their weapon (unintelligible [00:22:12])?

[General Canterbury]: No.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Sir, are any of the men being removed or replaced tomorrow known to be involved in the incidents of yesterday?

[General Canterbury]: It could well be. However, they will not–no one will be removed without arrangements being made for completion of the investigation.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, did you hear of this, first did you hear a shot fired before your troops fired and if so, could you from your long experience identify what kind of weapon?

[General Canterbury]: To answer your first part, is I did hear a single shot preceding the volley which followed. I could not identify the round or the weapon from which it was fired.

[Unidentified Speaker]: How soon before was that shot heard?


[General Canterbury]: A matter of a split second.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, I just want to clarify a question I asked earlier. You say all your officers, [to a man?], issued the cease fire order. How could they determine that this danger to the lives of the Guardsmen no longer existed? What conditions had changed?

[General Canterbury]: As I pointed out, upon firing, the troops–the distance and the rioters were withdrawing. It was unnecessary to fire any longer, even if they had decided it was the thing to do. It was unnecessary.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, these soldiers who were being stoned to judge if their lives were in danger, how were they equipped? Were they wearing riot helmets? Did they have on any kind of (unintelligible [00:23:41]) or bullet proof vests? What were they wearing?

[General Canterbury]: They were wearing steel helmets. They did not wear rifle proof, or bullet proof vests.

[Unidentified Speaker]: But they were helmeted and the stones that were falling on were falling on shoulders and arms I take it?

[General Canterbury]: Well, unfortunately, they didn’t all hit them on the head.

[Unidentified Speaker]: How about the two hospitalized? Is that not the shock according to the investigator?

[General Canterbury]: No, one man I understand had a heart attack.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, did the Guard have the rooftops of the buildings around that area secured at the time of this demonstration?


[General Canterbury]: Negative.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, how many troops will this leave in the area when you pull out?

[General Canterbury]: Someplace around 400.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, if it is true that the Guard did not panic when they fired, why did they fire directly into the crowd? They had a moment to reflect, they could fire at least with a cool head, why did they have to shoot to kill? Why couldn’t they have just as easily shot to wound?

[General Canterbury]: I think if you find that sometime later in this business that many of them did fire to wound, did fire over their heads.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Is this a reflection on their marksmanship or their training?

[Unidentified Speaker]: (Unintelligible [00:24:58]). –somewhat unfamiliar with the basic principles of weapons handling. How much training do they get (unintelligible [25:11]) small arms each month?

[General Canterbury]: I’d rather not answer in terms of the months, the number of hours. I would however point out that every man committed to this campus had completed his basic training which is a sizable amount of hours in weapons training, and that every man has been through the riot training after completion of the basic training.

[Unidentified Speaker]: What does that consist of, sir? The riot training? What are the basic principles of that?

[General Canterbury]: Formations to move a mob, which were employed out here yesterday, use of chemicals, which was employed out here yesterday, the anti-sniper actions, which was not employed out here yesterday, as many as first aid, many other subjects which have a varying–

[Unidentified Speaker]: Does it have a use of firearm?

[General Canterbury]: Pardon?

[Unidentified Speaker]: Does it cover the use of firearms and when they’re justified?

[General Canterbury]: Use of–well, you’re talking about now a policy and a program, and I would point out that every member of the National Guard is issued with a set of standard operating instructions.

[Unidentified Speaker]: If they fell down–

[Unidentified Speaker]: What would you tell students across the nation who are concerned about yesterday’s incident?

[General Canterbury]: I would advise the students across the nation that they have a responsibility on maintaining an academic environment where all people can learn and where it’s not necessary to put National Guardsmen on a campus.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, are you satisfied that your men acted correctly yesterday?

[General Canterbury]: I am satisfied that these people felt that their lives was in danger and that was their judgment.

[Unidentified Speaker]: This man who had a heart attack, has it been determined whether he fell before, during, or after the firing?

[General Canterbury]: When returning. When he returned to the Commons.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, now that you–

[Unidentified Speaker]: Did anybody fall prior to that for any reason at all? Any Guardsmen?

[General Canterbury]: I think some of them were knocked down with rocks, but they scrambled back up.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, now that you’ve had–

[Unidentified Speaker]: Could I ask you what efforts were made to locate and identify the sniper?

[General Canterbury]: We immediately asked the highway patrol to run a reconnaissance with their sniper–with their chopper.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Were these men given specific orders prior to the incident about firing their weapons? And what were those specific orders?

[General Canterbury]: These people had all been instructed that under normal conditions that they will fire on order except when they’re returning fire on a sniper or in this case, it was not a specific order, but in this instance, they felt that their own lives were jeopardized.

[Unidentified Speaker]:  Can I follow that up? General, as a highly experienced military officer, did you feel that your life was in danger?

[General Canterbury]: I felt that the situation out there was extremely dangerous.

[Unidentified Speaker]: But did you feel that your life was in danger?

[General Canterbury]: I felt that I could have been killed out there.

[Unidentified Speaker]: General, a two-part question. Now that you had some period of time to consider what happened yesterday, do you think that firing into the students was the best means of quelling the riot and the second part, if not, what changes in (unintelligible [00:29:09]) would you recommend to the Guard for the next campus disturbance?

[General Canterbury]: I would like to advise a group of people here that after every civil disturbance, we completely evaluate our actions in that disturbance in light of what has transpired, and we make the appropriate modifications to our policies and to our standard operating procedures.

[Unidentified Speaker]: What sort of evaluation have you made today?

[General Canterbury]: I would like to recommend to the nation that they think about different weapons for use during riots. I think we need weapons that will disperse the rioters, but not necessarily be lethal.

[Unidentified Speaker]: What kind of weapons?

[General Canterbury]: It could be shotgun, for instance, which we are using, but I think even more than that, we need some people who–

[Unidentified Speaker]: Water cannon, perhaps?

[General Canterbury]: --we need people to do research. I’m not a research man, but I firmly believe that we need people who are going to research and think what sort of weapons should be devised for uses during civil disturbances.

[Unidentified Speaker]:General, you said that this procedure of having rounds in the chamber is SOP [standard operating procedure] in Ohio, and yet, in Illinois, where I’m from and in most other states I covered these disturbances in, rounds are not in the chamber. In fact, sometimes they’re kept in the armory, not even on the trooper’s person. What makes the Ohio situation so unique that this particular method that has to be–

[General Canterbury]: Well, I should point out that rounds are not in the chamber until the people reach the scene of a riot to begin with. When an action is imminent, at that point, they lock and load their weapon. I should point out, as I did earlier, that we feel that our policy has actually been a deterrent in people shooting during civil disturbances.

[Unidentified Speaker]:  General, have authorities arrested anyone at all who is a suspected sniper? Anyone caught with a rifle or a gun in a hostile act?

[General Canterbury]: They have arrested some people with weapons. I am not in position to say how many and who these people were.

[Unidentified Speaker]: When did they arrest them, sir?

[General Canterbury]: I believe some of them were arrested Saturday and some Sunday.

[Unidentified Speaker]: By whom, sir?

[General Canterbury]: Gentlemen.

[Unidentified Speaker]: Thank you.

[End of recording]

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