America’s police have become too militarised
FROM the way police entered the househelmeted and masked, guns drawn and shields in front, knocking down the door with a battering ram and rushing insideyou might think they were raiding a den of armed criminals. In fact they were looking for $1,000-worth of clothes and electronics allegedly bought with a stolen credit card. They found none of these things, but arrested two people in the house on unrelated charges.
They narrowly avoided tragedy. On hearing intruders break in, the homeowners son, a disabled ex-serviceman, reached for his (legal) gun. Luckily, he heard the police announce themselves and holstered it; otherwise, they probably would have shot me, he says. His mother, Sally Prince, says she is now traumatized.
Gary Mikulec, chief of the Ankeny, Iowa police force, which raided Ms Princes home in January, said that the suspects arrested were not very good people. One had a criminal history that included three assault charges, albeit more than a decade old, and on his arrest was found to have a knife and a meth pipe.
It is easy to see why the police like to be better armed than the people they have to arrest. They risk their lives every day, and are understandably keen to get home in one piece. A big display of force can make a suspect think twice about pulling a gun. An awful lot of SWAT tactics are focused on forcing the suspect to surrender, says Bill Bratton, New Yorks police chief.
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http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21599349-americas-police-have-become-too-militarised-cops-or-soldiers