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 Post subject: Militarization of the police
PostPosted: Sat Aug 30, 2014 1:33 am 
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This is a trend that I find troubling. It seems that as police forces obtain more military equipment, it has also increased the mindset of "us vs. them" in those police forces. It is as if the police believe they are now soldiers battling an enemy rather than public servants who are to protect and serve the citizens.

I wish I saved the link but I recently read an article about some teen boys who were roughed up by the police because they asked why the police were stopping them. One of the boys was filming the encounter on his cell and that made the police even angrier. The boy did stand up for his rights calmly and told the officer that he had a right to film an interaction with the police. What disturbed me most about the article was that the Police Chief made statements that said the police were justified in treating the boys the way they did because the boys did not show the fear of the police that they should have shown.

Fear of the police? What?!? Since when should citizens have to fear the police? When did fear become the standard for interactions with police? Why should I have to fear them if I am doing nothing wrong and am minding my own business?

I was never taught to fear the police. The police were people who would help you. Our elementary school had an officer called "Officer Friendly" come every year to give a presentation on what the police do, how to stay safe & other useful info. They did this so kids would not be afraid of the police and would seek them out when they needed help.

Now, we supposed to be afraid of them? I think this has much to do with all the new weaponry that they have now. It is easy to intimidate if you have assault gear, tear gas and armored vehicles. It is easy to push your weight around when you outgun the citizenry and when you choose to draw your weapon at the drop of a hat. Mind you, I am not advocating that citizens arm themselves to deal with this. I believes that escalates the potential for more Fergusons to happen.

We need to come up with a solution that gets us back to the point where people don't fear and mistrust the police. And the police need to cooperate with this by acknowledging that military equipment is not needed for most situations and by actions that rebuild the trust of the people. It would go a long way for both sides.

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 Post subject: Re: Militarization of the police
PostPosted: Sat Aug 30, 2014 1:34 am 
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And Merrill, don't use my thread to bump or copy/paste your "petition". Petitions don't do squat with things like these.

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 Post subject: Re: Militarization of the police
PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 4:48 pm 
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Unfortunately the police now have to assume everyone is a potential threat to them. "Respect" has been replaced with "threatening", on both sides.

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 Post subject: Re: Militarization of the police
PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 7:15 pm 
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bergerfry wrote:
Unfortunately the police now have to assume everyone is a potential threat to them. "Respect" has been replaced with "threatening", on both sides.


I can see that in some respect when you consider the increase in militia groups along with the sovereign citizen groups but the idea that the police must assume the average citizen is a threat really rubs me the wrong way.

Their primary function is protection of the citizens. It is easy to lose sight of that function if the assumption is that everyone is just a criminal in the making. The idea of innocent until proven guilty is not just for court. The function of the police is not to assign guilt or innocence and when they assume everyone is a potential threat, they are overstepping their bounds.

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 Post subject: Re: Militarization of the police
PostPosted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 9:24 am 
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"I can see that in some respect when you consider the increase in militia groups along with the sovereign citizen groups but the idea that the police must assume the average citizen is a threat really rubs me the wrong way".



I have an MP for a son-in-law and he says the unfortunate part is that they have to be like that. Most times it turns out to be OK but it's the one time you let your guard down that gets you in trouble.

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 Post subject: Re: Militarization of the police
PostPosted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 7:21 pm 
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bergerfry wrote:

I have an MP for a son-in-law and he says the unfortunate part is that they have to be like that. Most times it turns out to be OK but it's the one time you let your guard down that gets you in trouble.


Your son-in-law is supposed to be militarized because he is a MP. He is a wholly different class of law enforcement.

Barney Fife doesn't need a tank and a rocket launcher to do his job working traffic stops. His service gun, a taser and ability to call for backup is sufficient.

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 Post subject: Re: Militarization of the police
PostPosted: Fri Oct 03, 2014 10:47 pm 
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I used to baby sit and was convinced my neighbors were Satanists when I found their bong and Grateful Dead posters in the basement. I always have candles lit when I’m at home but I always blow them out if I feel a nap coming on (paranoia drummed into me by my father).


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