Going Out On A Limb

I detest the militarization of the police. I cannot express my distaste enough.

I do not bow to the argument, "If we save even one cop's life..."

Bullshit!

When he's on duty he is The State. And The State has a vast supply of individual officers. Yes, a police officer is a person, with rights. As such, his rights should be identical to mine, since I am a person too.

The laws we are wrapping around the cops is making me a second class citizen with regards to many rights.

Conceal carry comes with the badge in most places, in particular in places where a normal citizen is not allowed to carry at all.

Self defense laws are far more lenient on the police than on common folks; especially so when you consider that a cop is typically put on paid leave while the shooting is investigated and legal counsel is provided by the department. The investigations are typically very cursory and are conducted by the police force itself as if it's impossible for it to have no interest in the outcome.

Speaking of self defense, I know when I can shoot a normal assailant. It's codified in the law and confirmed by jurisprudence. When can I shoot a cop? In theory, it's the same as any other assault. In practice, it's never legal. In some jurisdictions, it's possible for a cop to shoot almost as many people as he'd like with impunity.

The police are the ultimate in "circle the wagons" and band together groups.

How many times have you seen a cop flagrantly breaking traffic laws?

The police are people, just people. On average no better (or worse) than the rest of us. I dislike the pedestal we've made for them.

I detest the militarization of the police forces. Heck, I detest it's called a police FORCE. I'm of the opinion that if a cop needs an M113A2 APC to do the job then we need the Army to make the arrest (and the Army doesn't arrest people). We might discover that the cops don't need tracked armored vehicles if they cannot have them.

What about cops lives? What about them? As agents of the state, there are plenty more where they came from. The state can afford the losses. Any argument about a cop needing a piece of military equipment applies just as fully to me in regards to my safety. Ban me from having something, you don't get it either. Being a policeman should not be a path to elevation above the people he's been hired to protect.

I would feel a lot better if the rules the cops followed were the same as the rules I have to follow. They really aren't too onerous.

Here comes the narrowest part of my limb.

I feel that, as agents of the state, the infractions committed by the police should be punished more harshly than if the same thing had been committed by a normal citizen. That's not just an individual violating your rights, that's the agency and government violating your rights.

I have some token solutions.

Police uniforms will be distinctive from military in color and cut. While a cop on a SWAT team might need something very much like BDU's or ACU's a pair of dark blue coveralls will do.

If a cop shoots someone; instead of paid leave they get six months where they don't collect a penny from any government source, including unemployment. That tells me, emphatically, that the officer needed to pull the trigger. If the police unions want to pay his salary while he's suspended, let them. A private citizen who has to defend themselves with lethal force is subject to more, actually, after losing time to court appearances, costs of legal fees, stress, etc...

Again, if the cops need military hardware and training to get the job done, then it's obviously a military job not a police job. Full. Stop. I think that once we take away the cool tactical hammer then not every problem will be a nail.

In my threeperish moments I have to think that the first ones to be shot will have to be the local police. They will be the first ones sent to quell an insurrection. The gun community had better get happy with the idea that it's not going to be the faceless ATF ninja at the forefront of this, but the local police. Thoughtlessly supporting the police in every situation is being mindless. They are people, just like you.

Please note, this is not a call to start shooting the police.



Comments

22nd-May-2010 06:40 pm (local) ravenclaw_eric

I couldn't agree more. I've said myself that instead of a full-time, paid police force, the majority of police should be part-timers, and that everybody who's able-bodied and free of a major criminal record (i.e. no felonies, no mala in se misdemeanors---traffic stuff and like that, OTOH, would not be a bar) should have to take part.

A big part of the problem with police forces (aka "JBTs" or "jack-booted government thugs") is their "us vs. the whole world" mentality. To way too many police, the world is divided into police and non-police...and non-police consist of three groups: Perps, future perps, and wanna-be perps. I can understand some of this; they are seldom greeted with smiles, even when their presence is very necessary, but still, I do not think this is at all healthy, or good for the community at large.

Cases where the police are separate from the communities they police are also bad news. A lot of the problems between some minority communities and the authorities comes from the minorities' perception that the police are picking on them, and are an alien force from outside. Citizen-cops drawn from those communities would be far better for everybody; people tend to react better to police that they feel are more "like them." Locally-recruited police with roots in the community also have a better idea of who is and who is not bad news.

Whenever I hear a JBT referring to me, or t any non-policeman, as a "civilian," I want to snarl "And since when are YOU in the military, Herr Sturmbannfuhrer?" I'd probably get my ass kicked, but it'd be so worth it.

24th-May-2010 11:19 am (local) weerdbeard

"Perps, future perps, and wanna-be perps. "

I would add "Family" to that, as I've seen family of cops hide behind the "thin blue line", or get preferential treatment.

Also this militarization of the police is gonna get them in more trouble than they can solve. Just look at the whole no-knock warrant bullshit. Couple that with the goofy error rate, as well as the minor shit they kick doors for these days, with the rise of the self-defense gun culture, and we're looking at a really ugly intersection in the near future.

Especially when you realize that 99% of the "no-knocks" can be accomplished just as easily with a knock on the door and presentation of a paper warrant. If they're going after a small enough quantity of contraband that it can be quickly flushed or destroyed, maybe you don't have much of a case in the first place...