Licensed to Kill: The Growing Phenomenon of Police Shooting Unarmed Citizens

[FreakinDJ]

Here's a recipe for disaster: Take a young man (or woman), raise him on a diet of violence, hype him up on the power of the gun in his holster and the superiority of his uniform, render him woefully ignorant of how to handle a situation without resorting to violence, train him well in military tactics but allow him to be illiterate about the Constitution, and never stress to him that he is to be a peacemaker and a peacekeeper, respectful of and subservient to the taxpayers, who are in fact his masters and employers.

Once you have fully indoctrinated this young man (or woman) on the idea that the police belong to a brotherhood of sorts, with its own honor code and rule of law, then place this person in situations where he will encounter individuals who knowingly or unknowingly challenge his authority, where he may, justifiably or not, feel threatened, and where he will have to decide between firing a weapon or, the more difficult option, adequately investigating a situation in order to better assess the danger and risk posed to himself and others, and then act on it by defusing the tension or de-escalating the violence.

<snip>

I'm not the only one concerned, either. Indeed, I've been contacted by many older cops equally alarmed by the attitudes and behaviors of younger police today, the foot soldiers in the emerging police state. Yet as I point out in my new book, A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, this is what happens when you go from a representative democracy in which all members are subject to the rule of law to a hierarchical one in which there is one set of laws for the rulers and another, far more stringent set, for the ruled.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Licensed-to-Kill-The-Grow-by-John-Whitehead-Police-Abuse-Of-Power_Police-Brutality_Police-State-130916-302.html

[Dawson Leery]

1. K/R. Most of the acts of violence are against black males, no surprise.

[truedelphi]

2. I liked this remark from the comments section:

If, instead of the officers, the shooters had been citizens with a CCW permit, the gun ban hoards would be calling for disarming all permit holders and banning guns. Said citizen(s) would lose their guns, pay heavy fines at best and more likely land in the Greybar Hotel forever. These cops will most likely get a slap on the wrist, or lose their job at worst. Lastly, while we seldom ever hear about a permit holder hitting innocent bystenders, as the article here states, this is an alarming trend among police, especially New York cops. (I wonder if they abide by the 7-round ammunition resctiction?) What we're seeing is a tipping of the balance of power, from We The People to the State. They no longer protect us. Now they're asserting their ownership.

[Th1onein]

5. This part, especially:

What we're seeing is a tipping of the balance of power, from We The People to the State. They no longer protect us. Now they're asserting their ownership.

[Blue_Tires]

7. And I'm betting dollars to yen that commenter

Partied harder than anyone when Zimmerman got acquitted...Talk about missing the forest for the fuckin' trees...He should probably reconsider which side of the "war" he's on, because I don't think it's mine...

[truedelphi]

8. I have a lot of friends whose attitude toward guns has become this one:

If all the damn mentally ill cops can have guns, and the thugs can have guns, why can't I have a gun?

And none of my friends were for Zimmerman.

Gun ownership is not just for the likes of George Zimmerman. Here in California, we ask ourselves how it is that the DEA, ICE, Local Police can haul people off, and make arrests, by going into the person's backyard and dropping the marijuana plants. Without warrants being part of the process, and with guns being used to pistol whip people, shoot their dogs, (even harmless lap dogs), etc. You and I both know why they don't go up to Alaska and pull that shit. After all, the average Alaskan living in the country has a rifle they use to shoot bears.

[Blue_Tires]

9. Of course they don't pull that shit in Alaska...Why would they?

when the so-called "war on drugs" is designed from the start to get minorities imprisoned...Not a whole hell of a lot of us in Alaska....

[bemildred]

3. I've known since I was 9 that being where the cops are not is the safest place to be.

No exceptions. And calling the cops to save you from trouble is like calling hyenas to save your dinner.

[blkmusclmachine]

4. Police State, soon with 30,000 armed Drones flying your neighborhood.

[truedelphi]

6. However, on account of

"Because Obama!" it is ALL good.

The Powers that Be have accomplished so much under this Democratic President, that they never could have done under a Republican.

And it is now possible to kickstart this Administration:

[Earth_First]

10. A loud bang, a flash of light...your entry door is jarred open

It's 4:30 in the morning.

In a scurry, you grab whatever you can find to defend yourself against the intruders who have entered your home.

"LOWER YOUR WEAPON!

"BANG! BANG! BANG!"

As your significant other screams and finds their companion in a pool of blood, gasping for life, your taxpayer-funded mitia realizes they have the wrong address.

That's life in The Police State.

Get used to it.