The Ugly/Threatening Gear of our Militarized US Local Police Departments Comes in View in Durham, NC

[Savannahmann]

28. The Combat Zone mentality has existed for years

In an interesting coincidence the wife and I were talking about the cops just last night. I told her about Anaheim California, where I spent some time growing up. The law in California was that the police were supposed to shoot to wound. That law was changed to Shoot to stop. In other words, as long as the guy was upright, or moving, you could keep shooting.

Three officers in Anaheim California chased a man on foot. Witnesses including those not wearing uniforms said that the man suddenly turned and reached inside his jacket. Three police officers opened fire, this was right after every department adopted the Beretta 9mm as the weapon of choice. They fired nearly twenty rounds of ammunition, killing the man.

Now, the law hadn't been changed for very long, a couple months. But these officers were already up to speed on what they could do, they could keep shooting until the man fell down. The old training of shoot to wound disappeared from their minds in a couple months.

That was in the 1980's, and things haven't gotten any better. In fact, they've gotten worse. The laws continue to change, and now you have to show that the cop is basically a psychopath before you can get him suspended with pay. Getting him charged, much less convicted of a serious crime is nearly impossible.

No threat to the police will be tolerated. No objection to their seemingly endless authority goes unanswered. The Beltway sniper killed far more people, in a far more "important" part of the nation than did Christopher Dorner. But the different responses were obvious. The Beltway Sniper was just targeting civilians. Dorner was hunting cops. In fact, while hunting Dorner they shot up a pickup truck that did not match the make, or model, or color of the one they were searching for. But hey, the cops have a dangerous job right? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2292637/Christopher-Dorner-Women-truck-shot-LAPD-officers-hunting-fugitive-refuse-replacement-asked-pay-tax-pose-publicity-photos-police.html

The manhunt for the Boston Bombers was not what you would call Civilized, but it went well overboard once a cop got killed. Then the rulebook went out the window, and it was full militarized police presence everywhere. Armored vehicles, turret gunners, and cops wearing more body armor than soldiers in Afghanistan storming the streets with automatic rifles. Holding citizens at gunpoint while houses were searched. This is for your protection, because if I'm not pointing a machine gun at you then you might say something or do something that would make me want to shoot you.

I've said it before today, I'll say it again. Fuck the police.