New ACLU report takes a snapshot of police militarization in the United States

The Washington Post ^ | June 24 at 9:29 AM | Radley Balko

[lwd]

The American Civil Liberties Union has released the results of its year-long study of police militarization.

{SNIP}

But we’ve already seen cases in which the mere factor that the resident of a home was a legal gun owner — in some cases by virtue of the fact that the owner had obtained some sort of state license — was used as an excuse to execute a full-on SWAT raid to serve a warrant for an otherwise nonviolent crime. Of the SWAT raids the ACLU studied in which police cited the possibility of finding a weapon in the home, they actually found a weapon just 35 percent of the time.

[VerySadAmerican]

Be sure and ping post #4

[catbertz]

Let’s not forget the many multiple documented “wrong address” raids. Many of these swat teams don’t deserve the gear they’ve received.

[Trod Upon]

why do we pay them more?

Unions. We are vastly over-policed by officers who are paid much more than they are actually worth to the taxpayer.

[Jim Robinson]

Don’t do drugs or drug related offenses. Don’t burgle, cheat, rob or steal. Don’t commit aggravated assault, rape, murder, or any other violent crime. The original thread was whining about the large numbers of blacks imprisoned on drug related charges. I’m simply pointing out that it’s no one’s fault but their own. Don’t do drugs. These are all things that loving parentS teach their children. The shame is on the black poverty pimp $$$ industry and those enabling the government plantation to exist.

[GeronL]

That is all true, but I don’t see why the EPA, Post Office and stuff need machine guns and SWAT teams and I don’t see why small rural towns need MRAP vehicles.

[GeronL]

WAY outside the big cities, I mean

[tanknetter]

... and I don’t see why small rural towns need MRAP vehicles.

Military surplus heavy vehicles actually do make sense for rural towns, and there's a record of them being gifted to such dating back to post-WWII. We're not just talking Jeeps and Deuce and a Halfs, either, but halftracks, DUKWs and even de-gunned tanks like Shermans. They're incredibly useful when confronting natural disasters and the like.

The difference is that back then the vehicles would go to the local Fire/Rescue and/or Civil Defense Orgs. These days they get painted black (or dark blue) and go to the cops. Which is where the mistake is being made.

[GeronL]

Military surplus heavy vehicles actually do make sense for rural towns,

I hear maintainence costs are huge for those things.

[Jim Robinson]

No they don’t. But that’s not the reason the prisons are full of criminals, black or white.

[tanknetter]

I hear maintainence costs are huge for those things.

MRAPs use a lot of commercial/off the shelf components, and are usually based on a commercial platform (Navistar - formerly International Harvester - made a lot of them.) And there's a good supply of spares to draw from, including vehicles used for cannibalization.

Still, yes, much more expensive than a police cruiser or super-duty commercial pickup truck. But in something like the aftermath of a hurricane or tornado or flood (or even during a flood, with their fording capabilities), they're going to be invaluable.

The two deuce and a halfs and Dodge 3/4 ton weapons carrier my town had (WWII or Korean War surplus) were invaluable when Gloria tore through Southern New England in 1985.

[GeronL]

true

[LevinFan]

NOT EVERYONE GETTING RAIDED IS COMMITTING ANY CRIME AT ALL. Explain that? And a great many have such minor offenses as being accused of over fishing.
Even for those who have committed an offense, this is the United States of America, not North Korea. Even with the guilty, LE shouldn’t be allowed to just behave and use whatever tactics they want.

Cops are too damned eager to smash through a house because it is just such great fun. Seriously, I just pointed out they were so eager that they raided a family over TEA leaves.

I’m not for drugs in any way shape or form. That doesn’t mean that I’m thing going to be on the side of cops doing whatever they want to fight drugs. It isn’t an “either/or” situation. One can believe in drug enforcement, and restraint by LE while doing it.

[Jim Robinson]

Where’d you get the idea I’m in favor of raiding?

[LevinFan]

Sure sounded like it, with your focus on the crime and not the tactics for fighting it. It read like you thought everyone getting hit was automatically guilty. Maybe I just see to many people who do assume it.

There is doubting that a lot of them are guilty as sin. And I’m not shedding tears over their hardships. But it is dangerous to let cops get an “ends justify the means”.

[Jim Robinson]

All I said was don’t do the crime.

I’ve always been opposed to swat raids.

[ConservingFreedom]

Jim replied to a post that referred to a different thread about Ru Rand Paul playing the race card.

[MrB]

But, in related news, the ACLU says it’s OK to be arming up the government against the citizenry as long as democRats are doing it and Christians are the targets.

[zeugma]

When can a conservative say the lines will have crossed?

The biggest supporters that I've seen of this unconstitutional attack against the rights of citizens seem to be those with a personal stake in its continuation. As long as their paycheck or lifestyle is being supported by the drug war, they'll continue to support it and attack those who oppose them viciously. The difference between the dealers and the state is negligible in the long run. I have less to fear from a mexican 'kingpin' than I do from some drug warrior who decides he wants my stuff.

[Biggirl]

Revolt is coming.

[Future Snake Eater]

Cops are paid to take the risks, not pass them on to everyone else. If a cop has no more balls than a mall cop, why do we pay them more?

Exactly. If you feel the job is just too dangerous, then you need to find another line of work. Brutalizing everyone around you so you can feel safe is not acceptable.