Riot stormtrooper Riot stormtroopers , colloquially known as riot troopers , were highly - trained soldiers that specialized in containing and defusing insurrectionist scenarios due to the spread of the influence of the Rebel Alliance to even within loyalist populations in the Galactic Empire . As military enforcers of the Empire , the riot troopers were typically stationed on subjugated worlds throughout the galaxy , such as Kamino and Cato Neimoidia , although they were most common on megalopolis worlds throughout the Core and Colonies due to them being disobedient worlds , that according to the Empire , required " parental discipline . " They were trained for close - combat , and thus were armed with electrostaffs , made from lightsaber - resistant cortosis . As a consequence , they lacked any type of range weapon . In addition to their weapons , the riot troopers wore protective suits that slightly resembled the armor of the Imperial stormtroopers . The riot troopers ' special status was emphasized by the fact that they received training at an Imperial Royal Guard Academy on Yinchorr , the same facility where Emperor Palpatine ' s Royal Guardsmen were trained . Every riot trooper was required to swear the Oath of Obedience upon graduation as a symbol of their unquestioning loyalty to the Emperor and his Empire — an oath that could only be severed through death . In combat , they were often accompanied by a squad of stormtroopers ; the troopers provided aid from a distance with their range weapons while the riot troopers closed in on the enemy with their electrostaffs . Because they were trained specifically for confronting and putting down large - scale civilian insurrections , they lacked any fear of being overwhelmed by crowds . In 1 BBY , roughly a year into the Galactic Civil War , several riot troopers were killed , along with many other Imperial troopers , in the Timira City Cloning Facility of Kamino . Six months after the formation of the Alliance to Restore the Republic , the Sith Lord Darth Vader commissioned a clandestine project to recreate his fallen apprentice , the late Galen Marek , through an experimental type of Kaminoan cloning technology . However , the procedure was initially imperfect and resulted in numerous abject failures , including an emotionally unstable clone who escaped from Kamino . During his break out , many riot troopers attempted to neutralize the rogue clone ' s progress , but were ultimately killed for their efforts . Although they were able to defend themselves against the clone ' s dual lightsabers , they were completely helpless against his genetically - inherited Force powers . For all of their weapons and training , they were no match against the clone ' s command of the Force . The rogue clone of the original Starkiller later again fought against more Imperial riot troopers on Cato Neimoidia , shortly after his escape from Kamino . He intended to rescue General Rahm Kota , a member of the Rebel Alliance and Marek ' s Jedi mentor , from the Tarko - se Arena . The entire Imperial garrison in Tarko - se , including many riot troopers , attempted to kill the clone before he could reach the city ; many of them were killed , and the clone ultimately succeeded in his mission . During the Assault on Kamino , many riot troopers were part of the planet ' s Imperial military defense force . The riot troopers on Timira City , however , were defeated easily by the renegade clone , who was forced to return to his homeworld in order to rescue Captain Juno Eclipse . The combination of Rebel ground assault forces and the clone of Galen Marek were too much for the riot troopers to contain . Hence , they failed in their duty to prevent the fall of Timira City and the capture of Darth Vader .