Article: The new warrior cop is out of control

[ILoveCats]

Well, I never thought I would be repeating something from salon.com, but this (really lengthy) article is absolutely worth a read in its entirety.

http://www.salon.com/2013/07/07/%E2%80%9Cwhy_did_you_shoot_me_i_was_reading_a_book_the_new_warrior_cop_is_out_of_control/singleton/

The author covers a lot of ground and it's thought-provoking to say the least.  Like many people I was probably guilty of having a quickly formed, simplistic opinion on the militarization of domestic police. After reading this, some of my preconceptions have been bolstered and, in other areas, I find myself more "on the fence" than I had thought.

On one hand, I wish we could go back to the days when law enforcement officers seemed to have a lot more guts and a lot more intellect, like the Texas Ranger W.J. McDonald who famously quipped that "there's only one riot" so they only needed to send one Ranger.

On the other hand, the author starts to lose me a bit when he sympathizes with anti-globalization "anarchists" and their ilk.  In other words, I also wish that we could go back to the days when, if the nations' leaders gathered together for a summit, the host country treated that process with respect and dignity rather than an excuse for the tie-dyed crowd to yell and rant like some spoiled toddlers.

Anyway still mulling this over myself, but it's a good read and highly recommended.

[GreyGeek]

The abuse of civil rights by law officers using SWAT gear is getting out of hand, and that article gives several examples of trivial crimes that have lethal force applied in order to make arrests.

YouTube is full of citizen videos documenting police abuses of their powers, and allowing the police to use SWAT equipment for any arrest, instead of violent offenders, is disgusting.  Boys playing with their toys, except that they kill.   And, bringing hollywood  and sports stars with them is proof that the raids are both illegal, and unnecessary.

[AWick]

This didn't even discuss the incident I believe in FL where a guy, alone with his infant daughter, killed a cop that was barging into his house (they had the wrong address) at 2 in the morning.

But this line is the most important for everyone and it is why we must advocate for those that we don't agree with.

"So long as partisans are only willing to speak out against aggressive, militarized police tactics when they’re used against their own and are dismissive or even supportive of such tactics when used against those whose politics they dislike, it seems unlikely that the country will achieve enough of a political consensus to begin to slow down the trend."

[CitizenClark]

This didn't even discuss the incident I believe in FL where a guy, alone with his infant daughter, killed a cop that was barging into his house (they had the wrong address) at 2 in the morning.

I believe you are thinking of Cory Maye from Mississippi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Maye

He did the right thing, if you ask me. If you hear all hell breaking loose and then an armed intruder crashes through your door and you are the last line of defense for your young daughter, deadly force seems totally warranted. It is shameful that the prosecutor even went after him, and more shameful still that he is still technically a convicted felon.

[CitizenClark]

.

[NENick]

I wonder how Maye wasn't shot after he fired on the officer.

[CitizenClark]

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[AWick]

Yeah, the Maye case was what I was looking for. I couldn't remember all the details and failed to find it after a quick search. I would hope that calls for pardon are still ringing in MS so that he can have his rights renewed.

[NENick]

Because his bullet found the mark and incapacitated his adversary? Because the cop was an idiot and was apparently the only one on that side of the duplex?

Those were my guesses too, but I couldn't believe that a single officer would be his own door-kicking entry team... If that is the case, then wow.