Sends chilling message on police arsenals (Las Vegas Sun)

[struggle4progress]

Monday, Sept. 4, 2017 | 2 a.m.

... While many police departments have updated their look to tactical-type cargo pants, Metro has resisted the trend to avoid being seen as too militaristic and intimidating by the people the department serves.

Metro’s mindset is worth mentioning now that President Donald Trump has foolishly rescinded former President Barack Obama’s order restricting departments from obtaining surplus weapons, vehicles and other gear from the U.S. military.

The order, which applied to such equipment as armored vehicles with tank treads, grenade launchers and even firearm-equipped aircraft, was squarely aimed at easing at least two very real concerns. One, police departments had begun to be seen as occupying forces as opposed to protectors of the public, especially in minority communities. And two, experts warned that departments that obtained heavy firepower were more likely to use it, regardless of whether doing so was actually warranted.

But in tearing up the order, the Trump administration sent a message to the public that its uneasiness about police militarization didn’t matter ...

https://lasvegassun.com/news/2017/sep/04/trump-sends-chilling-message-on-police-arsenals/

[krispos42]

1. From Popular Mechanics 2006 "SWAT Overkill"

Soldiers and police are supposed to be different. Soldiers are aimed at enemies from outside the country. They are trained to kill those enemies, and their supporters. In fact, "killing people and breaking things" are their main reasons for existence.

Police look inward. They're supposed to protect their fellow citizens from criminals, and to maintain order with a minimum of force.

It's the difference between Audie Murphy and Andy Griffith. But nowadays, police are looking, and acting, more like soldiers than cops, with bad consequences. And those who suffer the consequences are usually innocent civilians.

The trend toward militarizing police began in the '60s and '70s when standoffs with the Black Panthers, the Symbionese Liberation Army, and the University of Texas bell tower gunman Charles Whitman convinced many police departments that they needed more than .38 specials to deal with unusual, high-intensity threats. In 1965 Los Angeles inspector Daryl Gates, who later became police chief, signed off on the formation of a specially trained and equipped unit that he wanted to call the Special Weapons Attack Team. (The name was changed to the more palatable Special Weapons and Tactics). SWAT programs soon expanded beyond big cities with gang problems.

<more>

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a1077/paramilitary-police-force-ferguson/

This was reposted on their site after the Ferguson riots.