For those who can't imagine why Law Enforcement would need an armored vehicle

[speltwon]

This case is a good example of heroism, and the utility of such a vehicle in certain cases... Used to rescue people who may otherwise have died...

FOND DU LAC, WI – In the face of tragic circumstances, law enforcement heroes made their mark Sunday morning on Fond du Lac’s west side. “Uniforms had no color Sunday,” said Fond du Lac County Sheriff Mick Fink, referring to the teamwork that took place during a six-hour standoff with James. M. Cruckson, 30, at 24 S. Lincoln Ave. Capt. Jon Gutzmann, Officer Ryan Williams and Officer Becky Kollmann arrived at the scene to investigate an alleged sexual assault involving Cruckson and his girlfriend. Fond du Lac Police Capt. Steve Klein said there were concerns about a 6-year-old girl reported to be in the home. The girl was later located at a nearby residence.

Williams was shot while he was inside Cruckson’s home with a high-powered rifle, said Klein. Fond du Lac Police Department Officer Zach Schultz, who was injured from a fall inside the home, was able to pull Williams outside where Fond du Lac Police Lt. Jason Laridaen was able to pull him away from the house. Kollmann, Gutzmann and Schultz were pinned down inside the home with Cruckson’s sister as bullets began to fly, said Klein. Williams was shot once in the left shoulder and once in the right chest, just below the collarbone, according to Dr. Raymond Georgen, medical director of trauma at Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah. Officer Craig Birkholz responded to the scene after he heard the report of shots fired. Birkholz was struck in his upper chest in an area not covered by a bulletproof vest and died at the scene. Klein and David Spakowicz of the Department of Criminal Investigation declined to go into detail about the shootings or preliminary findings. “Unfortunately, while he (Birkholz) was responding to assist his fellow officers he was struck with a fatal round,” Klein said. “I can’t tell you how difficult that is for fellow officers on the scene.”

At 6:40 a.m., Capt. Dean Will of the Sheriff’s Department contacted Sheriff Fink about the shooting and the request for the SWAT team’s armored vehicle. Fink arrived at Lincoln Avenue as gunfire erupted again. He met with Fond du Lac Police Chief Tony Barthuly and Deputy Chief Kevin Lemke. Fink then took over as tactical leader of SWAT team members at the scene as Barthuly dealt with families of the wounded officers. Laridaen told Fink that Williams was removed from the scene. “Our first priority was getting Birkholz to the ambulance,” Fink said. “… We had eyes on Birkholz from the time I was there.” Four deputies retrieved Birkholz.

“I watched Birkholz very closely for any movement from the time I got there to the time we could get close enough to get him,” Fink said. Lt. Aaron Goldstein was with Birkholz in the ambulance. Officers’ attention then turned to getting Cruckson’s sister and the police officers out of the home. “Gutzmann and Kollmann were able to take up tactical positions within the residence,” said Klein, who added the two had handguns and at least one long gun. “At that point, with the amount of gunfire, they weren’t able to safely exit the residence.” He said police believe Cruckson knew the officers were in the residence. “Gutzmann did a good job keeping themselves in a safe tactical position and keeping him (Cruckson) away from them,” Klein added. Sheriff’s SWAT team members drove an armored vehicle close to the home for the dramatic rescue. As they drove away, Gutzmann fire toward the house.

[Newest Reality]

1. Oh ...

I was foolishly imagining all the military-style gear and vehicles as being for dealing with massive insurrection and violence upon the manipulated, inevitable collapse of the Empire along with an ensuing, eternal state of Marshall Law that would usher in the final phase of a tyrannical, corporate-controlled, Police State.

Whew. What a relief! So, now for putting the Patriot Act into proper perspective, as well?

[speltwon]

2. Um, not really. What makes you possibly think

I am for the Patriot Act? This is about civilian local law enforcement using a DEFENSIVE device to save lives. It is not about wiretapping w/o a warrant, or all the other general assmunchery that goes on pursuant to the Patriot Act and now under two administrations with little change, and that occurs almost exclusively at the Federal level.

But thanks for your "concern"

[Newest Reality]

3. Oh, don't get me wrong,

that was just my rhetoric and I was using as a part of my presentation.

I'm sorry if it came off as personal or direct. I should have worded it differently because it was opportunistic in relation to your post. While I appreciate your attempt to illustrate a positive benefit of armored vehicles, as you can see, I find the militarization of the police as a very ominous sign and as directly related to legislation that prohibits freedom and expands enforcement powers beyond what is necessary.

I don't think of this just on the Federal level as we have more and more connections between local law enforcement and Homeland Security, which are of concern, as well. Take Fusion Centers, for instance:

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

Not being alarmist, but the fusion is the operative word.

[speltwon]

4. Thank you. If I was overly defensive, I apologize

The militarization of the police is an ominous sign, but let's remember since the days of Robert Peel, the founder of modern policing, police have always been paramilitary. That's not inconsistent with friendly, community based, problem solving law enforcement practices.

SWAT was invented as, and is a very useful tool , for certain very specific situations - where a special skill set, overwhelming firepower, special tools, and dedicated personnel can save ;lives - from suspects, to hostages to bystanders.

Given that, overusing SWAT, which law enforcement is wont to do , leads to disaster. To SWAT, a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Like ANY govt. agency or subdivision, they seek to expand their power and grasp and justify their expansion and use more, not less. NO govt. entity wants to be designed out, so to speak.

My agency saw that exact problem where some soothsayers in SWAT once convinced the management (who of course don't actually understand how policework works) that they were needed/necessary for all drug search warrants. That is INSANE.

Also, we are one of the few , if not the only nation on earth that does not have federal police (we don't), and where the vast majority of legal codes/crimes are only thus under a local/state level. Given that, there needs to be way more communication between locals and feds, but NOT de facto federal control. Our neighbors Canada and Mexico both have federal police, the Federales and the RCMP. We don't. That's a GOOD thing imo