When assault weapons and military style flack jackets became widely available to the public at large, and suddenly the police found themselves out gunned and sometimes under siege.
In response they purchased their own military style weaponry and body armor and the next thing you know we are all living in the US version of Beirut.
And the weapons manufacturers just keep raking in the green.
The Military Industrial Complex will not be denied their profits.
ReplyDeleteThat is the crux of the matter.
It was General Eisenhower who as President warned against this more than half a century ago.
I am not sure he would pass today's ideological purity test of his republican brethren.
Since the first Gult war PD are hiring "the troops" coming home and I guess suspending the Vetting process while their at it.
ReplyDeleteThe PD has always had a "us vs them" mentality but its basically a war now against the "bad guys" who is everyone....and all the surplus war shit going to police depts so grown men can play war.
Look what happened last year to the cop in ca he was executed . The cops always have a excuse, and are never wrong.
But when they come up against a bunch like the Bundy's they don't do squat?
But unarmed citizens, or AA citizens or occupiers, anons its guns a blazing.
The PD's need a major overhaul asap! They are using people, animals as target practice. Just like a warzone.
This is actually a continuation of the "War on Drugs". SWAT teams have become the norm for drug arrests. In the late 80s or early 90sthe new chief of police in Kodiak was the ex head of the Los Angeles Swat team and he decided Kodiak needed a SWAT team. A friend of mine was walking down the dock and happened to be walking down the dock when a guy he knew by sight came by so he walked on down the dock with him. All of a sudden a heavily armed tactical squad jumped from different boats and took them both down scaring the beejesus out of my friend. He was eventually let go and the other guy was hauled off for a.............. Pot bust.
ReplyDeleteIn a piece of sweet karma justice, the chief was pulled over later by one of his own officers after driving up on a sidewalk and arrested for drunk driving. Then the local newspaper released a story they had been holding back about the chief shooting an unarmed kid back in his LA days. And the chief resigned immediately to "protect his family" from having to relive the controversy of the kid's death all over again.
The police shouldn't be militarized. Period.
I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed, but anecdotally I've perceived and marked difference in the physical presence of local constabulary; i.e., they seem to be bulking up and showing it off.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if it isn't about time that police officers be tested for steroid use. Any thoughts on that?
Go to this link to see how crazy things are getting. It almost makes it seem like Homeland Security is Oprah. You get an MRAP and you get an MRAP......
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/04/18/congratulations-your-tiny-town-has-an-mrap-and-is-ready-for-war/
You may recall that police brutality was popular during-after the Vietnam war. Now it is after during Afghanistan - Iraq wars. Immoral wars breed violence.
ReplyDeleteI have a girlfriend that was married to a cop that use to beat her. She finally got out of the marriage, but it was awful to go through w/her. The police force supported her husband declaring him an outstanding police officer.
DeleteTough to watch what she went through! She left our state and has established a new life. She was afraid and I was too, for her!
I still have the images of the Boston Bombing manhunt ingrained in my head. That looked like something out of an apocalypse movie. I couldn't believe how much fire power they had and how many shots were fired at that boat the guy was hiding in.Those shots were fired in revenge for the cop who was killed. No negotiating for his surrender, although logic would warrant his capture to determine if others were involved. Luckily they were poor shots and he lived to put everyone's mind at rest there no others out there.
ReplyDeleteWhat bugs the hell out of me is we don't need militarized police in this country, we already have it covered and it's not part of their job description. And just because they have tanks, tear gas, tazers, assault weapons, doesn't mean they have to use them every chance they get, especially against and unarmed teen who's outnumbered and underrepresented by race/ethnicity.
ReplyDeleteAmerica's supposed to be a melting pot and inclusive/accepting of all. The Police's PR stunt of releasing that clip was an epic fail, and I hope it comes back to bite them in the ass. In the meantime, the shooter's on paid leave and living in an undisclosed location, a luxury every citizen doesn't get.
It has been like this for a good five to ten years now - I wrote a Letter to the Editor of our newspaper a few years ago questioning why police in our community were killing males when they could shoot to maim them? It makes me sick!
ReplyDeleteWe are like a third-world country and you could not pay me to call a cop for assistance.
You must be young. I've seen it going on far more than 5 or 10 years, seriously. I'd say closer to 25 to 30 yrs of "Military Creep"! In the years after the end of the Viet Nam War, it progressed slowly. After Desert Storm and the big push with the "War on Drugs", coupled with three strike judgements in the courts, it was "Katie Bar the Door" after that.
DeleteYou must be young. I've seen it going on far more than 5 or 10 years, seriously. I'd say closer to 25 to 30 yrs of "Military Creep"! In the years after the end of the Viet Nam War, it progressed slowly. After Desert Storm and the big push with the "War on Drugs", coupled with three strike judgements in the courts, it was "Katie Bar the Door" after that.
Delete