This Is The Terrifying Result Of The Militarization Of Police {images}

[xchrom]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ellievhall/these-photos-of-koko-the-gorilla-mourning-the-loss-of-robin?bffb


Police officers ride an armored vehicle as they patrol a street in Ferguson, Missouri, Aug. 11, 2014.

While serving as a U.S. Marine on patrol in Afghanistan, we wore desert camouflage to blend in with our surroundings, carried rifles to shoot back when under enemy attack, and drove around in armored vehicles to ward off roadside bombs.
We looked intimidating, but all of our vehicles and equipment had a clear purpose for combat against enemy forces. So why is this same gear being used on our city streets?

On Saturday, a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown, an unarmed black man. In the days that have followed, the town with a population about 21,000 has seen massive protests in response to the shooting, as some witnesses said Brown had his hands up when he was killed.

Putting aside what started the protests for a moment, it's worth discussing the police response to the outrage. In photos taken on Monday, we are shown a heavily armed SWAT team.


Police wearing riot gear try to disperse a crowd Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri.

David Masad @badnetworker
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I'm failing to see any scenario where telling the police to meet the protesters in military gear is a sign of good judgement. (3/3)
2:50 PM - 12 Aug 2014

Derek Gannon @M1k351x
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@rdevro @PaulSzoldra Double basic loads, 10 inch upper barrels for CQB, flashbangs, Advanced gasmasks 4 asslting, armored MRAPS. WTF?!
4:29 PM - 12 Aug 2014


Police wearing riot gear point their weapons at a car as it pulls away after tear gas was used by authorities Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/police-militarization-ferguson-2014-8#ixzz3AFuncg4q

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/police-militarization-ferguson-2014-8#ixzz3AFu4Ty3c

[geomon666]

1. Modern day stormtroopers

And I don't mean the kind from Star Wars.

[woo me with science]

2. Federal grants to militarize police departments.

Homeland Security grants to local police departments for weapons and vehicles like tanks. It has to stop.

Add this to corporate government and media, mass surveillance, intimidation of journalism, and persecution of whistleblowers, and what do you have? Fascism.

Military device used on Detroit protest against #WaterShutoffs
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014852205

All The Infrastructure A Tyrant Would Need, Courtesy Of Bush And Obama - TheAtlantic
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022973186

The Militarizing of Local Police (through Federal Grants)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/bradlockwood/2011/11/30/the-militarizing-of-local-police/

Another Day, Another 124 Violent SWAT Raids
https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform/another-day-another-124-violent-swat-raids

Does your local government have a “black budget” too?
https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-technology-and-liberty-criminal-law-reform/does-your-local-government-have

Too many cops are told they're soldiers.
https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform-free-speech-technology-and-liberty/too-many-cops-are-told-theyre-soldiers

One ongoing scandal in the criminal justice world, for example, is the fact that there's no reliable data on how often police officers fire their weapons at citizens. The federal government is supposed to collect these figures, but for whatever reason, it simply hasn't done so.

Towns don't need tanks, but they have them.
https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform-free-speech/towns-dont-need-tanks-they-have-them

Full ACLU Report on Police Militarization
https://www.aclu.org/criminal-law-reform/war-comes-home-excessive-militarization-american-police-report

[Bettie]

3. This might ramble, but bear with me

I remember as a kid watching the TV show "S.W.A.T". My dad liked it.

It was different because it was about this special kind of police unit that only existed in a few big cities.

This was when parents (at least white parents) could reasonably tell kids that cops were there to help.

Fast forward to today.

Police are armed and dressed as if they are in the military and it makes me wonder if it sets up a psychological response in them. Suddenly, they are armed and dressed for combat against a hostile insurgent population, but they end up among, well, us, the people they are supposed to be serving, the people they are supposed to protect.

But we are now their enemy. Their weaponry and clothing tells them so. Even their vehicles are set up to protect them against women, men, children...if they require this much protection, it follows, there will be many who begin to believe the narrative of these items, that they are at war with all non-uniformed individuals.

It makes me sad that as a white mother of sons, I can have a reasonable belief that my children will not be shot for daring to walk down a street. What makes me sad about this is that mothers who happen to have darker skin than I do not have this belief, they can't afford to, because it simply isn't true.

We should all be able to trust those entrusted to "serve and protect". Sadly, I suspect that the motto is quite different these days.