America's Police Are Looking More and More Like the Military

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/americas-police-are-looking-more-and-more-military

America's streets are looking more and more like a war zone. Last week, in a small county in upstate New York with a population of roughly 120,000 people, county legislators approved the receipt of a 20-ton Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle, donated by the US Defense Department to the county sheriff.

Between the Armored Personnel Carriers locking down main streets in major American cities – mimicking our MRAPs in Afghanistan – or Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) and Special Forces units canvassing our country, if we're not careful, this militarization of our domestic policing will make-over America, and fast.

Here's how it all happened. A little-known Pentagon program has been quietly militarizing American police forces for years. A total of $4.2bn worth of equipment has been distributed by the Defense Department to municipal law enforcement agencies, with a record $546m in 2012 alone.

In the fine print of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 1997, the "1033 program" was born. It allows the Defense Department to donate surplus military equipment to local police forces.

[Jim Warren]

1. America's Police Are Looking More and More Like the Military

That's fitting because much police recruiting is being done from ex-military ranks, vets get a wink and nod.

[dotymed]

9. Absolutely.

I live in a town adjacent to Ft. Campbell, KY. The police force here is at least 95% ex-military.

"Crowd control" at our local school graduations are like scenes from a battle zone. The police ruined my daughters college graduation for many spectators (including me). They treated everyone as a threat and arrested people for being "too enthusiastic" when their child or friends names were called.
You were not allowed to move closer to take a picture, partially block the aisles in any way (this included people in wheelchairs). The military..errr..police talked at the spectators like they were scum, etc..
This was a COLLEGE graduation, full of elderly parents/grandparents, etc..
Almost all of us were complaining about these military thugs. So, they arrested complainers as a deterrence to anyone who might challenge their AUTHORITY.
Most of "our" police do not care to speak with (they will speak at) ordinary community members. They treat the teenagers as threats and therefore do not hesitate to brandish their weapons.
I attempted to speak with a few of them at my Daughters graduation (nicely) and I soon found myself surrounded by other cops. It was intimidating.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

2. Thanks for the free puppy ...

The police dept is offered a free MRAP (stands for Bigger than Big Honkin' SUV), how can they say "no" to FREE?

Now they have to maintain it, keep it fueled, and fix any damage it causes to the roads.

Like a "free" puppy, it'll be very expensive.

[Eleanors38]

23. Keep up the A.C., and it's a great accessory for getting...

[IDemo]

3. From the local paper today -

Boise, Nampa police acquire military-grade vehicles

The mine-resistant trucks will be used in high-risk situations, officials say.

Treasure Valley police departments are beefing up their fleets, thanks to unneeded gear from the U.S. military.

Both the Boise and Nampa police departments received Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles - or MRAPs - that have been used in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The Caldwell Police Department is currently on the waiting list for a vehicle and hopes to have one in a few months.

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/10/08/2803964/local-police-acquire-military.html#storylink=cpy

[xchrom]

4. +1

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

6. Given the white supremacist activity in Idaho...

Last edited Tue Oct 8, 2013, 09:03 AM - Edit history (2)

I'm not sure I'd begrudge the Boise PD with all the hardware they can handle. I'm afraid they're going to need it one day.

[IDemo]

7. Sure enough..

The ignorance from this board whenever Idaho is mentioned is appalling. If you believe that the entire state is a hotbed of Klan activity, or even that the populace of the northern panhandle embrace that thinking, you're engaging in the type of broadbrush smear that would normally get you ridiculed here. Boise has quite a number of liberally inclined people.

But everyone here is a potato farmer, and everyone engages in nightly cross burnings. Carry on.

[beerandjesus]

12. A good friend of mine from San Francisco moved to Boise...

...and I regret that I never had a chance to visit him there before I moved to the East Coast.

Realistically, I would have spent the whole visit gorging myself on Basque food, but hopefully I would have been able to absorb some of the (non-culinary) culture too!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

14. Ok, you are sensitive. But he didn't broad-brush.

He simply said (paraphrasing for clarity) that there exists white supremacist activity in the state. You don't deny that.

He also said that police in Boise might need some equipment. Just because there are undeniably quite a number of "liberally inclined people" in Boise does not mean that there are no militant white supremacists in Boise and around it who might go to Boise for "events".

[bullsnarfle]

19. Huh.

I would be more inclined to think that the cops would be siding with the supremacists.

[IDemo]

22. Sorry, but by including Boise, it was indeed a broadbrush

Again, folks in Milwaukee or elsewhere who are completely unfamiliar with Idaho often feel entitled to paint the entire state as a hotbed of hate. I've lived here over 40 years and am very familiar with the culture and the politics. The state was thrust into the national spotlight 20 years ago with the appearance of the Aryan Nations. The people in the panhandle were definitely not on board with these idiots, and when a lawsuit resulted in the shuttering of its compound, the building was razed and the site dedicated to a "Peace Park".

That other small groups weren't paying attention and decided this was a great place to camp still does not mean that folks are either marching alongside or barricading themselves behind barred windows to protect themselves.

And Boise is one of a few purple spots in the state. Here is our Democratic mayor leading a crowd of thousands at the 2008 caucus in a Basque cheer for Obama -> http://vimeo.com/56008007. Idaho has the largest population of Basques in the world outside of the Iberian peninsula.

For whatever reason, Skinner ended the ban on regional bashing that DU used to enforce, and progressives from the South and the Rocky Mountain West have since seen the results. DUers are not as exempt from broadbrushing and prejudicial thinking as they often like to portray themselves.

[Eleanors38]

24. I hear you. Idaho is getting what Florida gets 24-7 from some "progressive" DUers.

[sabrina 1]

25. We have separate entities for security for a reason. We have a civilian

police force to deal with domestic crime and they are never, ever supposed to cross the line to being a military force.

We have one of the largest military forces in the history of the world. Their job is to deal with National Security.

We also have the National Guard.

We have the FBI, the ATF, the CIA, Homeland Security and who knows how many other entities to deal with National Security.

If there are groups that are a threat to the nation we have numerous entities to deal with that.

The Civilian Police Force is not for National Security nor should they ever be unless we want to live in a police state.

Questions do need to be asked as to why the Civilian Police Forces are being armed with militarized weaponry, some of which they used against OWS.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

28. Your reply is misplaced. My post was about a writer being unfairly accused of broad-brushing a state

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

18. Not meaning any disrespect to Idaho...

But you can't deny that white supremacist groups seem to have an affinity for Idaho. I don't think it's the potatoes.

[Jackpine Radical]

26. ave you figured out how to

bake potatoes on a burning cross?

[BelgianMadCow]

5. coupled with Moral Mondays protesters labeled "anarchists"

that sounds like a plan

[zeemike]

8. People should be shocked at this.

But we have been so conditioned to it we now think it is normal.
But you cannot have a police state without military discipline and equipment in the PD.

[Savannahmann]

10. kick

[TBF]

11. What I'd like to see --

close or taper down more bases overseas and bring our military home (as much as we can). But instead of domestic "policing" (although we can certainly use a decently paid force - these are workers and I want them to get their pay/benefits) ... I'd like to see a domestic corps of folks working on our infrastructures.

Let's fix things like the sagging bridge in Wisconsin. Let's work on our highways so our retired folks can take out their RVs and travel a little. Work on our National Parks. Infra-structure. We already have enough bombs to blow the planet up about 100 times so lets chill and work on our own house for awhile.

[CrispyQ]

13. "We the People" are now the terrorists.

Especially if we dare to want anything.

[RandiFan1290]

15. Boston Strong!!

[xchrom]

16. indeed. nt

[leveymg]

27. Before his trip to Russia, Tamerlan was designated by the CIA as a terrorist, but allowed to leave

the US and then freely return without even being questioned at the airport upon his reentry. His designation occurred at about the time of the multiple murders of two of his closest associates, and the murder investigation was still open. Yet, he was allowed to travel in and out of the US freely. The gov't claims he left the country and returned unnoticed, despite being in the terrorist look-out book. Curious.

Why?

[Crowman1979]

17. Homeland Security funding needs to be cut.

With the amount of so-called terrorists in this country, we really don't need this much hardware. Frankly, municipalities with less than one million people should not have a city police force with an anti-terrorism unit to begin with. Instead, the responsibility for anti-terrorism units in smaller communities should be given to the state police and should consist of a few small teams. Not these battalion-size units in which there only function is to harass peaceful protesters.

[Half-Century Man]

20. I think all law enforcement personnel should be drug tested

and those with evidence of steroid abuse should be given year long detoxing to dry out.
They need to have their internal duologue dialed back, they are not really at war with anyone. They are not "the thin blue line" between us and (as heavily as they are armed), I'm guessing werewolves.

I believe the motive behind this is the profit of the MIC. Armored Humvee are heavy, slow, use a lot of gas, not all that effective, and expensive. If you are building them and have sold the military more than they can use;more than they can justify owning. You need new customers. A program for the MIC to give away their equipment is a great way to create new demand by the military. Since local leos can't afford the pricey super-cool too-expensive-to-drive-around-normally sorta-looks-like-an-urban-tank-if-you-squint armored car; getting one as a hand me down is GREAT. Which also reinforces the big brother/little brother attitude TPTB love.

[Orsino]

21. Minus all the faux-worship...

That is the only thing left that protects military benefits.

[msanthrope]

29. I support gun control for the populace and the police. nt

[Eleanors38]

30. "1033 Program" pales compared to the move to abrogate the Possee Comitatus Act in 2006...

and to "undo" that damage in 2008. The 1807 Insurrection Act and its modification may be the focus for those wanting centralized military command structure over the states. This was the Explicit goal of GWB and the backers of the "unified presidency." Bush had that authority for 2 yrs. Those sharing that ideology want it back.

The debate over possee comitatus is small and obscure as the Act was born of rising post Civil War Southern Restoration, and failing Reconstruction, and the 1877 "great compromise" stemming from the Tilden-Hayes election theft. The Possee Comitatus Act (1878), unseemly as its origins are, stands precariously between centralized, command military authority on the one hand, and the policing powers of the individual states on the other. And do I mean precarious.

Quite the irony for those lefties among us, who fear the militarization of local police, to have to depend on an Act with this history.