Samurai Police
Gotta find a friendly city
And that's the reason why,
I'm going to Kansas City
--Kansas City, Wilbert Harrison
Nobody naw give ya no Break,
Police naw give you no break,
Soldier naw give you no break
--Bad Boys, Bob Marley
This America;
at least it was 10 years ago
--t.v. show, House
__________________
And that's the reason why,
I'm going to Kansas City
--Kansas City, Wilbert Harrison
Nobody naw give ya no Break,
Police naw give you no break,
Soldier naw give you no break
--Bad Boys, Bob Marley
This America;
at least it was 10 years ago
--t.v. show, House
__________________
This is for the Blakenator (a friend from friendly San Francisco.)
Blake, like Ranger, fears the trend toward the militarization of the police. Clearly, the Phony War on Terror (PWOT ©) has turned the military into an international police force, so it is little wonder that mobius strip has turned upon itself, and our police have become like the military.
Here is an article from the recent American COP magazine, Gearing Up for SWAT. Just read the lead-in: "Boston or Baghdad, Kansas City or Kandahar -- TOUGH TACTICAL GEAR GIVES WARRIORS THE WINNING EDGE" Isn't that a mouthful of wannabe bullshit? Don't you just look forward to the day you cannot discern Kansas City from Kandahar? And it is coming, America, don't you worry your little minds over it -- your police are gearing up for it.
When did COPS become tactical assets? In what universe? When did they become warriors? Just for grins, look at that POLICE i.d on the helmet of an otherwise combat-outfitted police officer. This photo indicates the murkiness that has become law enforcement in America. (For further reading see the works of Radley Balko, who has written extensively on No-Knock raids and other vice and civil liberties issues.)
When did police begin to view their reality as tough and tactical, and that they need a winning edge? What happened to "protect and serve"? When did cops start viewing themselves as winners?
If cops are the winners, then who are the losers?
Labels: militarization of police, militarization of SWAT, pphony war on terror, PWOT, radley balko
posted by rangeragainstwar at 7:02 AM
11 Comments:
A few years ago my buddy a VN Combat medic and yours truley were at a local Navy base to do some shopping when we saw a LE 'dog and pony show' at the base meant for public consumption,'Officer Friendly' stuff. We pulled over to check the circus out. When we got to the SWAT concession and all these 6.5" men in black, sporting pulled down black ski masks and carrying MP5's they thought they were truley bad ass, both of us somewhat grizzled Vets were chuckling to ourselves. I walked up to biggest SWAT trooper there and asked casualy, 'Boy, it must be 110 degrees out, aren't you awful hot wearing those ski mask's?" Well, I could tell I hit a raw nerve...was trying not to bust a gut laughing a felony on federal property? He let us slide, no doubt a 'good' guy. We sauntered over to the 'drug dog' concession and the officer was a bit more relaxed and we talked about his job and dog who was on station. I had some experience in this field and noticed the dog's alarm bells going off, while the officer wound up his pitch to my friend. Walking away I asked my buddy "did you see that dog signing?" Ya my friend said, "I was sweating bullets, I forgot I had a joint in my pants pocket from last night". We came away, grinning and satisfied with the show, nevertheless somewhat skeptical of the mission statement.
BH,
I once had a fine CDR.LTC that loved OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE by Merle Haggard. We young guys laughed at the line ...we don't smoke no dope in muskogee.!
RIGHT.
jim
i mentioned before...(whispers) we are already Proto-Fascist. i think it is not proclaimed as such and openly embraced, especially by the Republican Party, because the term "fascist" has so many negative connotations with the NAZIS and all. but there were definitely sympathies in America in the 30's among the financial and industrial elite, and so many embrace the trappings today even as they proclaim their fetish for personal liberties.... they'd default their government to corporate plutocracy; a fascist modality.
The Phony War On Crime has been going on for a loooooong time now.
And I very much suspect that escalation in the near future is going to take on a dimension that Judge Dredd would protest.
bonus army....
BH187,
Naugh-ty boy :)
How to Become a Blackwater (Xe) Mercenary
Thanks for the shout out. Actually, I live in the Nevada desert a few hundred miles east of SF. The thing that bothers me the most is no matter how egregious the mistake or overreach by these people, the "authorities" always come out with the "we followed procedures, therefore we did nothing wrong." Also, I fully understand how necessary and difficult the job of policing is but I draw the line when, after one of these episodes, I hear the top cop say priority #1 is "officer safety" when "to serve and protect" is painted on his patrol cars.
Blake,
You done been out in the sun too long.!!
I gave you an opsec phony location and you then targetted yourself. Now they know where you stay at.
They're gonna get you!!
jim
Blake,
You touch upon a key point.
The life/safety of an officer does not take precedent in these situations.All life is of equal value.
Deadly force is authorized only to prevent loss of life. Further loss of life. It does not matter if the perps killed 50 people in the execution phase of their crime. Once they go into barricade mode the counter restarts and they must exhibit hostile intent before they can be green lighted/lit.
We seem to have lost that concept these days.
jim
Just a quick note. 'Protect and Serve' comes from the same handbook as 'No Child Left Behind', or 'An Army of One' (namely, Smoke and Mirrors Volume II, Chimera Press).
'Officer safety' ranges from a valid concern, to a flimsy pretext.
In a free society, the primary function of law enforcement should be to bring people in front of a court, (preferrably with both the person and the Constitution in one piece).
To accomplish that isn't as easy as it sounds sometimes, and the reality comes closer to chasing criminals into other people's jurisdiction, but IMNSHO, the current trend is a fast track to bad, bad consequences for good people.
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