Police dept are being populated by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, so why are we surprised

[CK_John]

they are acting like the current military. They are just replacing a lot of vets from earlier wars.

The difference is the changes in the fighting methods.

[Arkansas Granny]

1. As I recall, after 9/11, local law enforcement offices received a lot of money to buy

military-type equipment and hire extra officers to combat terrorism. I seem to recall our local police getting bullet proof vests, robots and other specialized equipment to fight the war on terror. As long as they've got it, they might as well use it, no?

[CK_John]

2. No, it's not the equipment it's the methods honed in the streets of Iraq. The use of

overwhelming force and aggressive presence.

[kydo]

3. and PTS

[leftstreet]

4. Link? What % are Iraq/Afghanistan vets?

[CK_John]

7. Call your local PD or State civil service or use a search engine.

[leftstreet]

8. Including Corrections, it holds at abt 7%

So I don't see all the excitement

[Decaffeinated]

5. You should consider yourself lucky...

... to have members of the police force who understand things like escalation of force and ROE.

[HereSince1628]

6. ROE? what?

[pinboy3niner]

9. Rules of engagement

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_of_engagement

[HereSince1628]

10. SHIT!!!! It is so hard to remember to put military acronyms into civilian settings!

[pinboy3niner]

12. Looks like we'd better get used to it with the increasing militarization of PDs

But the terms that really throw me are the nicknames coined for pols. There are dozens of them for Sarah Palin alone!

[Nevernose]

11. They've been like this since the War on Drugs began

It's steadily gotten worse not because of returning veterans, but because the current LE leadership has lived their entire lives under the shadow of this ridiculous propaganda "war" and so literally no nothing besides "getting tough on crime." Furthermore, drugs are easy policing -- crime with actual victims is hard.

Just my two cents.

[legcramp]

13. That explains the 1968 Chicago police riot at the Democratic Convention

Nothing gets by you does it.