A retired Marine Colonel speaks truth to power, in the trite Leftist phrase. The militarization of the police in this country is a dangerous trend. Law enforcement is not warfare, and to treat it as such is to open the door to domestic tyranny. Swat teams were initially for emergency situations. Now the swat team mentality seems to be the first resort for law enforcement. The police are becoming a well-armed military force and that is perilously close to the fear of standing armies that would be used domestically for political purposes that helped lead to the American Revolution.
Police or Blue Army?
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 41 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
History: the praetorian guards . . . sic semper tyrannus.
I agree, except that I would replace the word ‘trend’ in your second sentence with ‘fait accompli.’
I heartily recommend Rise of the Warrior Cop:
http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610392116
Here’s an article by the author for those who don’t want to read the whole book:
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/
At least Army depends on Congress for appropriations. Law enforcement is now resorting to “civil [sic] forfeiture” to become self-funding.
The word gendarme, of course, comes from Les gens d’armes = Men-at-arms and constable was a senior cavalry rank – the comes stabularii or Count of the Stables.
The connection, not to say the equation of the police with the military is an old one.
Not in America it isn’t. The police were a late development and strictly non-military in this country.
Apple patents tech to let cops switch off iPhone video, camera and wi-fi
http://news.techeye.net/security/apple-patents-tech-to-let-cops-switch-off-iphone-video-camera-and-wi-fi
I’m taking this with a grain of salt, but even without Apple’s cooperation the police can already block out Wi-Fi and cell service whenever they want. They just haven’t chosen to do so yet.
Someone recently pointed out that years ago, dystopian writers anticipated far worse. The democratizing effect of the internet alongside the fact that people have their own technologies like, for instance, cell phone cameras, helps to prevent orwellian horrors from coming about.