A STUDY OF POLICE DEPARTMENT PERCEPTIONS OF FOUR DIFFERENT CIVIL DISTURBANCES IN AMERICAN CITIES, THROUGH INTERVIEWS WITH KEY ORGANIZATIONAL PERSONNEL, YIELDS FIVE GENERAL PROPOSITIONS ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL PERCEPTIONS OF RIOT PARTICIPANTS AND DYNAMICS. IN GENERAL, SOCIAL CONTROL AGENCIES SAW SPECIFIC EVENTS AND PARTICULAR TYPES OF PEOPLE RATHER THAN SEQUENTIAL HAPPENINGS AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS AS BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OCCURRENCE OF THE DISTURBANCES, ALTHOUGH THEY DID NOT PERCEIVE THE DISORDERS AS BEING ORGANIZED OR PLANNED.(AUTHOR ABSTRACT)....BDS