[Seruzawa]

Well. The only way to justify them is to use them. If the crime rates are going down, as they have been, then it is inevitable that swat teams will be used eventually to issue traffic tickets.

[Mark]

Then there are ruthless doctors, nurses, clergymen...

[TADSLOS]

For your review.

[wastedyears]

So when I say that warrior cops - hyped up on their own authority and the power of the badge - have not made America any safer or freer, I am not disrespecting any of the fine, decent, lawful police officers who take seriously their oath of office to serve and protect their fellow citizens, uphold the Constitution, and maintain the peace.

Where are those supposed "good cops?" Because you certainly don't hear about any of them at any level proactively speaking out against the actions of the bad cops (or the more or less normal cops). The only time they speak out is when they get caught doing something wrong.

[Sam_Damon]

Item: Police Body Camera Video With Journalist Leads To Investigation
https://denver.cbslocal.com/2018/08/29/denver-police-body-cam-video-journalist-investigation/

Item: Police Officer Sues WV City Over Termination for Not Shooting
https://www.wtrf.com/archives/former-police-officer-sues-the-city-of-weirton/838955804

Item: Officer fired for not shooting unarmed man reaches settlement with W.Va. city
https://www.wtrf.com/news/crimes-and-courts/officer-fired-for-not-shooting-unarmed-man-reaches-settlement-with-wva-city/969847780

Try and convince me at least some police officers aren’t out of control.

[preacher]

L8r

[Gen.Blather]

A SWAT team bashed in the door of my rental unit to arrest a frail, sick couple who had 48 11 inch tall marihuana plants. The paper said the Sheriff valued this haul at $50,000. The prior day the deputies had been summoned by a domestic dispute. According to the paper they put the couple to bed. They had already seen the marihuana plants. The SWAT came back at three am and broke down my door for an arrest. Why hadn’t they arrested them when they first spotted the plants when they arrived? My guess is they all got overtime pay and got to dress up and play SWAT. They brought an armored car. An armored car for a couple who had no history of resisting arrest and no history of firearms.

And, no, the sheriff does not pay for the damage they do on a raid. The landlord is stuck with that.

[JonPreston]

What does the Rutherford Institute have to say about the real threats to Americans, those being Antifa, the media, Black Lives Matter and corrupt politicians?

[Freedomlibertyjustice]

More cop-bashing drivel (with which I’m sure Sharpton and Obama agree wholeheartedly). And it even has groovy cartoons, so it must be true!

[Svartalfiar]

SWAT teams should be limited to the county level / Sheriff’s office. Cities have to request use of the team, with full open-information justification within 48 hours of the use of the team.

And it’s limited only to situation with a shooter, hostage situation, or high potential for deadly force.

[Freedomlibertyjustice]

Is Donald Trump the Most Pro-Law Enforcement President Ever?

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=trump+support+law-enforcement&t=hj&ia=videos&iax=videos&iai=uJg1Ji_7EWw

[bert]

To deny the war is to surrender to the bad guys. Such a person must not be allowed to ptosper in America. Such a person is detrimentl to our existence and thus a danger to all of us

The writer must be exorcized and heaped with shame.

[DoodleDawg]

Unfortunately, judges tend to afford extreme levels of deference to police officers who have mistakenly killed innocent civilians but do not afford similar leniency to civilians who have injured police officers in acts of self-defense.

Judges and juries.

[ridesthemiles]

This author sure isn’t going to like the citizen vigilantes who will be turned loose soon with the war they are pushing us into.

[null and void]

Specifically, what we’re dealing with today is a skewed shoot-to-kill mindset in which police, trained to view themselves as warriors or soldiers in a war, whether against drugs, or terror, or crime, must “get” the bad guys—i.e., anyone who is a potential target—before the bad guys get them.

I wonder how that happened?...

[cyclotic]

Our county Sheriff department has two surplus Humvees. They only use them for search and rescue, not SWAT. I have a ton of respect for them.

While there is a need for limited militarized police, it’s highly limited and should be nowhere near a daily occurrence.

I used to know a guy who was on a national SWAT team for a legit armed federal agency. They used them for legitimate takedowns. He’d get a call on Tuesday that he was needed in Atlanta on Thursday for a mission. Very limited.

BTW, please repost this article sometime tonight when more Freepers will see it.

[doorgunner69]

The usual suspects may be along soon to refute all this.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

As a result of the increasing militarization of the police in recent years, however, the police now not only look like the military—with their foreboding uniforms and phalanx of lethal weapons—but they function like them, as well.

Well, no.

Any squad of military personal who behaved anything like the current police would find themselves in Leavenworth making big rocks into little rocks.

Not even overseas in a war zone.

Better to say they act like hollywood imagines the military behaves like.

And a good portion of this "police culture" comes straight out of hollywood.

[MileHi]

That’s exactly what happened to Jose Guerena, the young ex-Marine who was killed after a SWAT team kicked open the door of his Arizona home during a drug raid and opened fire. According to news reports, Guerena, 26 years old and the father of two young children, grabbed a gun in response to the forced invasion but never fired. In fact, the safety was still on his gun when he was killed. Police officers were not as restrained. The young Iraqi war veteran was allegedly fired upon 71 times. Guerena had no prior criminal record, and the police found nothing illegal in his home.

That incident was and is an outrage, and no one was ever held accountable.