Posted on 02/28/2014 10:20:29 AM PST by Altariel
A troubling bill (PDF) that passed the Mississippi legislature last month would give the state’s attorney general three paramilitary-style “strike forces” to use around the state at his discretion.
The bill is being pushed by Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, who told the Associated Press, “These elite forces will respond to a specific high-crime area and hit gangs and drug dealers where they live. Give law enforcement the authority and the resources they need, and they will get the job done.”
But it’s far from clear that the state really needs more strike forces with which to hit people. Mississippi already has several federally funded multi-jurisdictional drug and gang task forces. The Mississippi Highway Patrol, which serves the entire state, has a SWAT team and a Special Operations Group consisting of 80 police officers for incidents for which the SWAT team isn’t sufficient. Most sheriff’s departments in the state have SWAT teams, as does just about every town with more than a half dozen stoplights, including Clinton, Pearl, Tupelo and Horn Lake. Even the Mississippi Alcohol Beverage Control agency has its own SWAT team. If you’re lucky, even your town’s mayor might strap on a gun and join the occasional SWAT raid.
So if you live in Olive Branch or Southaven, you’re covered not only by your town’s own SWAT team, but also the county SWAT team, the state police SWAT team, a multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force, a fugitive unit, the state Alcohol Beverage Control SWAT team and federal SWAT teams from the field offices of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (at least — possibly others).
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
A reduction to zero would not be amiss.
> So we are turning the police into the military....we just aren’t going to call them that?
If we called them military, they they’d be subject to posse comitatus.
Cleverly done... I presume that is pronounced NAZI.
But of course! And not by accident...
“So if you live in Olive Branch or Southaven, you’re covered not only by your town’s own SWAT team, but also the county SWAT team, the state police SWAT team, a multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force, a fugitive unit, the state Alcohol Beverage Control SWAT team and federal SWAT teams from the field offices of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (at least — possibly others).”
I fell so safe here in Southaven. All these jack booted thugs
Holy h**l. This is horrifying. What a bunch of insane morons. I see the Police State doesn’t care if the State is Blue or Red.
Let’s see, the GOP controls the governorship and both chambers of the legislature in Mississippi. The party of ‘smaller, less intrusive govt.’ doing what it does so well.
I thought as much
Once once state AG has his own armed force, won’t all the other state AGs have to have their armed forces, too?
Keeping up with the Jones’s.....
Tell you the truth, I had not heard that he had bugged out. When did he “bug out”?
“A reduction to zero would not be amiss.”
I have no problem at all with that.
Boy, am I behind the curve. I live in Mississippi, am active in Mississippi politics,even hold a small elected position myself, but did not know about this. I’m guessing that it is of little consequence.
None.
Just because it's the law, doesn't make it JUST!
Prohibition MUST END!
If suicidal people want to ingest battery acid and drain cleaner, LET EM! It's not justification to MURDER or ENSLAVE them!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.