Militarization of the police

It’s Time to Stop Saying – “But Cops Have a Dangerous Job”

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Earlier today, I mentioned that I couldn’t muster the energy to write more words about the police murder of Philando Castile. Things have changed.

As is often the case, it was a series of tweets I composed that provided the inspiration for this piece. One tweet in particular really set things off:

I wasn’t expecting the enormous reaction this tweet generated, but I was happy to see that it really connected with so many people who had never heard of me and never read my stuff before. I continued with my tweet storm until most of my angst was out, and then realized I needed to put these thoughts into a post. So let’s start with the title of this post.

One of the tiresome things I often hear immediately after one of these inhumane police executions is that “cops have a dangerous job.” So what’s your point?

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Iraq War Veteran Blows the Whistle on Shameless Propaganda Being Taught at Police Academies

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Before getting into the meat of this post, I want to start off by stating a fact: There is no “war on police” happening in America today. What is happening is a growing movement of people who want police accountability, profess a desire to reform the justice system so that we stop incarcerating people for the  oxymoron of “victimless crimes,” and an end to the widespread thieving of the public without due process via a practice known as civil asset forfeiture.

I’ve covered these topics extensively over the years. Here are just a few examples:

The United States: 5% of the World’s Population, 25% of its Prisoners

Don’t Mess with Texas – Police Raid and Shutdown Lemonade Stand Run by 7 and 8-Year-Old Girls

Chart of the Day – America’s Prison Population Over the Past 100 Years

Denver Police Arrest “Jury Nullification” Activist for Passing Out Informational Pamphlets

Land of the Unfree – Police and Prosecutors Fight Aggressively to Retain Barbaric Right of “Civil Asset Forfeiture”

The DEA Strikes Again – Agents Seize Man’s Life Savings Under Civil Asset Forfeiture Without Charges

Asset Forfeiture – How Cops Continue to Steal Americans’ Hard Earned Cash with Zero Repercussions

The public grievances listed earlier are reasonable demands which any civilized culture would insist upon. Nevertheless, many police departments across the country are taking these criticisms as part of some imagined “war on police” which simply doesn’t exist. Rather than showing even a sliver of introspection by looking inward at the mistakes policing has made in recent years, many officers are becoming defensive, combatant and have resorted to lies in order to dismiss the concerns of the public.

This is precisely what an Iraq war veteran witnessed recently while training at a police academy. He shared his story with the Daily Beast under the pseudonym Clayton Jenkins. Here are some excerpts:

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Police State Desperation – Texas Sheriff Proclaims “Authority Comes from God”

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Don’t mess with Texas. Particularly not with Texas cops, who according to Hunt County sheriff Randy Meeks, get their authority from God.

Yes, Mr. Meeks was outraged at critics who pointed to a videotaped beating of a pregnant woman by one of his deputies. Like Goldman Sachs, his work is God’s work, or so he claims. So shut up and take it you stupid plebs.

From Raw Story:

A Texas sheriff said police critics should shut up because he believes law enforcement officers are granted their authority by God.

Randy Meeks, the Hunt County sheriff, published a print-only guest editorial in the local Herald-Banner, citing Bible verses to argue that police officers are tasked with enforcing law and order for a godly nation, reported blogger Brett Sanders.

The blogger posts screen shots from the guest editorial, which was published just days after a grand jury cleared one of Meeks’ deputies in the videotaped beating of a pregnant Air Force veteran during the investigation of a domestic dispute.

“Due to recent events, I can no longer be silent concerning what our country allows,” Meeks wrote. “It is amazing to me that the criminals who break into our homes and steal from us, those who sell drugs to our children, those who abuse innocent and defenseless children, those who rape our wives and daughters, those who commit cold-blooded murders are all innocent until proven guilty.”

Recent events. Ok. Are you referring to your deputing beating up a pregnant veteran, or the Massachusetts officer who recently lied about being shot at to cover up a car crash. In fact, the officer shot up his own car. From CNN:

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Pepper Spray Cop Receives $38,000 Settlement from the University of California

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Remember this guy? Yep, that’s John Pike, the infamous pepper spray cop who walked across a group of seated student engaged in an act of peaceful civil disobedience and callously pepper sprayed them in the face. While Pike was eventually fired, an internal investigation found that he “acted appropriately.” For all his troubles, the University has … Read more

There are Over 50,000 SWAT Team Raids Annually in America

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Yesterday, Salon published a fantastic interview with Radley Balko, author of a new book, Rise of the Warrior Cop. The interview focused on the fact that the number of SWAT team raids has soared from a few hundred annually in the 1970’s to more than 50,000 per year by 2005. To make matters worse, most of these raids are focused on non-violent crimes.  Radley identifies three main forces behind this disturbing trend. The “war on drugs,” the national overreaction to 9/11, and the creation and massive funding behind the Department of Homeland Security. Moreover, once these SWAT teams are in place, the individual police departments feel pressured to use them in order to justify their existence. More from Salon:

Radley Balko’s new book, “Rise of the Warrior Cop,” details how America’s police forces have grown to look and behave more like soldiers than neighborly Officer Krupkes walking the beat. This new breed of police, frequently equipped with military weapons and decked out in enough armor to satisfy a storm trooper, are redefining law enforcement.

Since 9/11, the newly formed Department of Homeland Security has distributed billions in grants, enabling even some small town police departments to buy armored personnel carriers and field their own SWAT teams.

Once you have a SWAT team the only thing to do is kick some ass. There are more than 100 SWAT team raids every day in this country. They’re not chasing murderers or terrorists. For the most part they go after nonviolent offenders like drug dealers and even small time gamblers. As you’d expect when there is too much adrenaline and too much weaponry, there have been some tragedies.

Balko talked to Salon about the decline of community policing, the warrior cop mentality, why so many dogs get killed by police. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

There are several levels of militarization. The rise of SWAT teams nationwide, the number of annual SWAT deployments in the U.S., has gone from a few hundred in the ’70s, to 30,000 per year in the early ’80s, to 50,000 in 2005. That’s 100, 150 times a day in this country you have these heavily armed police teams breaking into homes, and the vast majority of times it’s to enforce laws against consensual crimes.

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