America’s police more likely to Menace and Intimidate than Protect and Serve

Coach is Right ^ | 3/2/14 | Doug Book

[Oldpuppymax]

“In the military mind set, the “drug war” has moved from metaphor to real life, with American streets as the “front,” American citizens as the “enemy” and law enforcement officers as the warriors.

At the direction of Congress, the Pentagon has spent the past 20 years providing military hardware free of charge to police departments throughout the nation, all for the stated purpose of fighting the War on Drugs. Billions of dollars worth of “surplus” military grade equipment has been transferred, literally enabling law enforcement in towns both large and small to serve warrants, control crowds and “keep the peace” with ordnance originally purposed for the annihilation of a foreign enemy. In the first three years of this federal collaboration between the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice (1994-1997) “…the Pentagon distributed 3,800 M-16s, 2,185 M-14s, 73 grenade launchers...

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

So if that is the wrong way for the police to search for a suspect in the marathon bombing....how would you say is the correct way?

[Lurker]

“Why are people mad about that”

Anyone, and I do mean ANYONE, who aims a weapon at me in that manner is going to die. Period.

“I don’t get it.”

You sure as hell don’t.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

So I will as you too.....they were conducting a search for a marathon bombing suspect. Someone who had just completed a mass killing at the race, ambushed and killed an officer, possibly in possession of more bombs, had ran over his own brother while escaping.....what manner if search do you think is appropriate under those circumstances?

[Lurker]

Adherence to the US Constitution springs into my mind.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Can you describe to me what manner the police in that circumstance should have used to find the mass murder?

Dont get me wrong...I dont want to see tanks in the streets and snipers on the rooftops.

I am just trying to figure out, given those circumstances, how would someone prefer the police to find the suspect?

[Lurker]

I already answered that question. And I will repeat. Anyone, and I do mean ANYONE, pointing a weapon at my home in that manner is going to die.

Period. End of story.

So go tell your cop friends to pick a side.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

I am being serious.

Given the action of the bombers and the circumstances as they were happening.....what type of search techniques should the police have employed?

I understand your point that you (and me) would not enjoy having the police rolling down are street pointing rifles at our houses...scanning the rooftops etc.

But it also obvious that what was shown in that picture is not what is commonplace in America....police do not drive around like that normally.

So my question still applies...

[Oatka]

So if that is the wrong way for the police to search for a suspect in the marathon bombing....how would you say is the correct way?

It sure as Hell wouldn't be by wannabe Gestapo pointing guns at people in windows. He aimed long enough for someone to take a picture. This was a bombing, not a sniper attack, yet when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

The militarization of our police is the main culprit here. take a look at what the "police" look like today.

IMHO, this militarization of the police is an end-run on Posse Comitatus.

I can't understand why anyone would find it acceptable for the police to dress up exactly like the military. The cop in the original picture could easily pass for a combat infantryman.

A free society should not tolerate such an obvious attempt to intimidate the public, and that surely is what that "cop" is doing. Waaay outside the norm.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Police do not patrol neighborhoods like that....those are special circumstances such as high risk search warrants......

[Oatka]

those are special circumstances such as high risk search warrants......

For the life of me, I cannot envision ANY event where police have to look like infantry. Riots? Civil Unrest? Call out the National Guard.

One problem (of many) with this militarization of the oilce is like what's happened with SWAT Teams. "When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Hence we have thme kicking in doors for white collar crimes, or worse yet, shooting dogs and people when attacking the wrong house.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

SWAT was invented to deal with high risk violent offenders and high risk search warrants.

I cannot speak for every department..especially smaller ones...but a roommates is used to determine if SWAT will handle a search warrant.

I will not give out those things that trigger the matrix pointing to SWAT handling it instead of a precinct level personnel servicing the warrant.

But suffice it to say....SWAT won’t waste their time on low risk stuff.

You see larger agencies gearing up (aka having some hardened personal gear like plate carriers with riflenround ratings) so officers responding to active shooters have more protection in cases of school shootings, workplace shootings, mallnshootings, and less likely but a real risk which will eventually happen....the terrorist event that includes active shootings.

The Boston Marathon incident turned into this.

Nobody, myself included, wants to see an army of occupation that is called a police department roaming the streets like a bad movie.

I don’t see that happening and I wouldn’t be a part of that.

Preparedness isn’t a bad thing though....unless the govt turns on the people.

If the feds and states held less power over the people, as the founders intended, then there would be much less concern about the police because the armed agents of the government wouldn’t be cause for as much concern.

Thats my opinion anyway.

[CodeToad]

When cops thought this was funny, it was over.

[Oatka]

“Nobody, myself included, wants to see an army of occupation that is called a police department roaming the streets like a bad movie.”

I think you are part of a dying breed. Too many examples are surfacing that indicate we are headed that way. A small scale example of the attitude at http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3139452/posts

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Nah....not a dying breed....people’snperceptiins are a just a reflection of what pop culture celebrates and what the news promotes.

There have always been bad examples and good examples of policemen.

There is just no John Wayne type cheerleading for American values in popular culture and bad outcomes are more frequently captured on video.