House Democrat Readies Bill To Demilitarize Local Police

[Lakhota]

To Terrify and Occupy

How the Excessive Militarization of the Police Is Turning Cops Into Counterinsurgents

Jason Westcott was afraid.

One night last fall, he discovered via Facebook that a friend of a friend was planning with some co-conspirators to break in to his home. They were intent on stealing Wescott's handgun and a couple of TV sets. According to the Facebook message, the suspect was planning on "burning" Westcott, who promptly called the Tampa Bay police and reported the plot.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, the investigating officers responding to Westcott's call had a simple message for him: "If anyone breaks into this house, grab your gun and shoot to kill."

Around 7:30 p.m. on May 27, the intruders arrived. Westcott followed the officers' advice, grabbed his gun to defend his home, and died pointing it at the intruders. They used a semiautomatic shotgun and handgun to shoot down the 29-year-old motorcycle mechanic. He was hit three times, once in the arm and twice in his side, and pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

The intruders, however, weren't small-time crooks looking to make a small score. Rather they were members of the Tampa Bay Police Department's SWAT team, which was executing a search warrant on suspicion that Westcott and his partner were marijuana dealers. They had been tipped off by a confidential informant, whom they drove to Westcott's home four times between February and May to purchase small amounts of marijuana, at $20-$60 a pop. The informer notified police that he saw two handguns in the home, which was why the Tampa Bay police deployed a SWAT team to execute the search warrant.

In the end, the same police department that told Westcott to protect his home with defensive force killed him when he did. After searching his small rental, the cops indeed found weed, two dollars' worth, and one legal handgun -- the one he was clutching when the bullets ripped into him.

Welcome to a new era of American policing, where cops increasingly see themselves as soldiers occupying enemy territory, often with the help of Uncle Sam's armory, and where even nonviolent crimes are met with overwhelming force and brutality.

Much More: To Terrify and Occupy*|*Matthew Harwood

It's really getting ugly.

 

[Stephanie]

To Terrify and Occupy

How the Excessive Militarization of the Police Is Turning Cops Into Counterinsurgents

Jason Westcott was afraid.

One night last fall, he discovered via Facebook that a friend of a friend was planning with some co-conspirators to break in to his home. They were intent on stealing Wescott's handgun and a couple of TV sets. According to the Facebook message, the suspect was planning on "burning" Westcott, who promptly called the Tampa Bay police and reported the plot.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, the investigating officers responding to Westcott's call had a simple message for him: "If anyone breaks into this house, grab your gun and shoot to kill."

Around 7:30 p.m. on May 27, the intruders arrived. Westcott followed the officers' advice, grabbed his gun to defend his home, and died pointing it at the intruders. They used a semiautomatic shotgun and handgun to shoot down the 29-year-old motorcycle mechanic. He was hit three times, once in the arm and twice in his side, and pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

The intruders, however, weren't small-time crooks looking to make a small score. Rather they were members of the Tampa Bay Police Department's SWAT team, which was executing a search warrant on suspicion that Westcott and his partner were marijuana dealers. They had been tipped off by a confidential informant, whom they drove to Westcott's home four times between February and May to purchase small amounts of marijuana, at $20-$60 a pop. The informer notified police that he saw two handguns in the home, which was why the Tampa Bay police deployed a SWAT team to execute the search warrant.

In the end, the same police department that told Westcott to protect his home with defensive force killed him when he did. After searching his small rental, the cops indeed found weed, two dollars' worth, and one legal handgun -- the one he was clutching when the bullets ripped into him.

Welcome to a new era of American policing, where cops increasingly see themselves as soldiers occupying enemy territory, often with the help of Uncle Sam's armory, and where even nonviolent crimes are met with overwhelming force and brutality.

Much More: To Terrify and Occupy*|*Matthew Harwood

It's really getting ugly.

You VOTED FOR IT and you got it
[ame=http://youtu.be/Tt2yGzHfy7s]Obama Civilian Security - YouTube[/ame]
now LIVE with your decisions you got US ALL INTO. You should be ashamed

 

[FA_Q2]

IMHO: The problem is not that police departments have "military gear" at their disposal. The problem is that excessive force investigations are not transparent and give me the impression of "cops covering for other cops."

While the latter IS a huge issue - it is a separate problem from the former. There is story after story about cops using this gear for simple and basic searches or other times when it is not appropriate. It is not just excessive use of force - they are using this equipment simply because they have it.

That is a universal truth. As long as they have it, it WILL be used. I don't think that the cops driving up in an MRAP is ever needed. Ever.

I want police officers to have the weaponry they need (or the ability to get it pretty quickly) when they need it.

And that plays to what I have been stating. Your cited study does nothing to show that the cops need such equipment. It takes an extremely narrow set of people and then asks a question that is entirely irrelevant to the needs of cops. What people have owned or happen to possess is meaningless. What they are actually using and the cops are actually coming into contact with is what matters. The FBI data is crystal clear on that account - rifles and military style gear is NOT what the cops are dealing with at all.

I want a truly independent panel to review excessive force claims and individual officers held accountable.

This is not an issue of weaponry, it's an issue of responsibility and accountability.

MHO

I think you are looking at only half the problem and that half is one of the symptoms of a militarized police force.