And I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that unless we are talking about a life or death situation for the cop.

Well, take it up with your local police, or you city mayor your congressman. Change won't come if we just complain to one another.

Well, take it up with your local police, or you city mayor your congressman. Change won't come if we just complain to one another.

 

It's a lot more fun just to complain.

I don't think anyone is saying there aren't bad cops. No one is saying cops don't make mistakes either. My problem is, these days, it seems like cop hating is the in thing. Until they need a cop for something, that is.

 

Police powers over the past several years have gotten way out of line. I think that you would find more often than not that police overstep their authority on most searches, consensual or otherwise. There exists a great debate on what actually constitutes probable cause. For instance, the smell of marijuana smoke does not constitute pc to search, according to some judges...to others, it does.

 

I have taken an overall skeptical view of law enforcement these days. Too many cowboys running the roads without competent leadership. Yes, I'm sure this may not be a popular opinion, but I have seen the other side and find very few, even ones that I have known for years, that I would trust with my life.

 

As for calling them when I need them, I'll handle my own...I think my chances are better than waiting on flak jacketed, fatigue wearing traffic cops when I am at that point in my life....

 

Policing has become less of a service industry and more of an authority industry...keep that stuff, I don't want any of them around me or mine

 

Police powers over the past several years have gotten way out of line. I think that you would find more often than not that police overstep their authority on most searches, consensual or otherwise. There exists a great debate on what actually constitutes probable cause. For instance, the smell of marijuana smoke does not constitute pc to search, according to some judges...to others, it does.

 

I have taken an overall skeptical view of law enforcement these days. Too many cowboys running the roads without competent leadership. Yes, I'm sure this may not be a popular opinion, but I have seen the other side and find very few, even ones that I have known for years, that I would trust with my life.

 

As for calling them when I need them, I'll handle my own...I think my chances are better than waiting on flak jacketed, fatigue wearing traffic cops when I am at that point in my life....

 

Policing has become less of a service industry and more of an authority industry...keep that stuff, I don't want any of them around me or mine

 

You posted a lot of things that are just wrong. Sounds like propaganda straight from "Cop block".

 

Please back up your post with some facts. What has changed in the last few years regarding police powers?

 

More often than not police over step their bounds? Numbers do not support that. Where did you get that from?

 

Police still provide a service. A large part of that is Law Enforcement. They do many other things you don't see in the news though.

New ACLU report takes a snapshot of police militarization in the United States - The Washington Post

 

62 percent of the SWAT raids surveyed were to conduct searches for drugs.

 

Just under 80 percent were to serve a search warrant, meaning eight in 10 SWAT raids were not initiated to apprehend a school shooter, hostage taker, or escaped felon (the common justification for these tactics), but to investigate someone still only suspected of committing a crime.

 

In fact, just 7 percent of SWAT raids were “for hostage, barricade, or active shooter scenarios.”

 

In at least 36 percent of the SWAT raids studies, no contraband of any kind was found. The report notes that due to incomplete police reports on these raids this figure could be as high as 65 percent.

 

SWAT tactics are disproportionately used on people of color.

 

65 percent of SWAT deployments resulted in some sort of forced entry into a private home, by way of a battering ram, boot, or some sort of explosive device. In over half those raids, the police failed to find any sort of weapon, the presence of which was cited as the reason for the violent tactics.

 

Ironically (or perhaps not), searches to serve warrants on people suspected of drug crimes were more likely to result in forced entry than raids conducted for other purposes.

 

Though often justified for rare incidents like school shootings or terrorist situations, the armored personnel vehicles police departments are getting from the Pentagon and through grants from the Department of Homeland Security are commonly used on drug raids

No-knock raids at an all time high

 

Cops do 20,000 no-knock raids a year. Civilians often pay the price when they go wrong. - Vox

Police around state gain military firepower; critics see danger | Local News | The Seattle Times

Crime isn’t exactly rampant in the Yakima Valley town of Grandview, population 10,862.

 

In 2013, the city had three robberies, six aggravated assaults and 10 rapes. There were no homicides in the city last year.

 

But that didn’t stop the Grandview Police Department from utilizing the Defense Department’s surplus materiel program to equip a tactical team made up of 10 of its 17 officers with an assortment of items that read like a sort of SWAT-in-a-box.

 

Over a few years, the department received 1,400 pounds of expended brass cartridges for reloading, five sets of $3,000 night-vision goggles, 14 laser-sights, five rifles, ammo magazines and bandoleers, and medic and survival kits, all at little or no cost.

 

The biggest-ticket item is a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, known as an MRAP, which the Defense Department valued at $412,000.

MRAPs And Bayonets: What We Know About The Pentagon's 1033 Program : NPR

 

But the program is a conduit for much more than just MRAPs. Since 2006, through the 1033 program, the Pentagon has also distributed:

 

79,288 assault rifles

205 grenade launchers

11,959 bayonets

3,972 combat knives

$124 million worth of night-vision equipment, including night-vision sniper scopes

479 bomb detonator robots

50 airplanes, including 27 cargo transport airplanes

422 helicopters

More than $3.6 million worth of camouflage gear and other "deception equipment"

12,000 bayonets? What do police need bayonets for?

 

Rand Paul tackles police militarization, MRAP vehicles and? bayonets? | Rare

Police equipment has certainly changed along with their tactics. I don''t necessarily blame it on the cops so much as the system, but it takes more good cops to speak out against police behaving in a militarized manner.

The police militarization discussion has taken place here before. Weapons/equipment do not give them extra powers.

 

Tactics have gotten better. Equipment has gotten better. How many times you seen an MRAP out on Patrol?

I too worry about the militarization of police but many of these items in the above article make sense.

 

79,288 assault rifles - I can understand this. Police have been carrying Remington 870 and similar shotguns for a long time for situations when the stuff hits the fan and a hand gun just won't cut it. I am told many departments are reconsidering and switching from shot gun to rifle due to higher capacity and faster reloading. So this doesn't seem too bothersome.

 

205 grenade launchers - I assume this are for launching tear gas? Or maybe bean bags? If so, no problem. If not for launching tear gas and/or bean bags, what could they possible need this for?

 

11,959 bayonets - No clue what these would be used for.

 

3,972 combat knives - I assume these are not simple folding tactical knife many people carry but the Rambo type? If so, scratching my head on this one as to its purpose.

 

$124 million worth of night-vision equipment, including night-vision sniper scopes - Is a common hostage technique to kill the lights before entering? If so, okay, sure, this could be useful.

 

479 bomb detonator robots - For the bomb squad? OK.

 

50 airplanes, including 27 cargo transport airplanes - What the heck are they hauling to use cargo planes? I guess maybe in large states like Texas or Alaska you could make a case for state police departments needing to move stuff but I just assumed they would contract that work out.

 

422 helicopters - Many departments use these to not too worried about this.

 

More than $3.6 million worth of camouflage gear and other "deception equipment" - Would swat teams use this? Not sure.

The police militarization discussion has taken place here before. Weapons/equipment do not give them extra powers.

 

Tactics have gotten better. Equipment has gotten better. How many times you seen an MRAP out on Patrol?

 

I agree that equipment doesn't give extra powers legally but some worry that it does give the ability for police to abuse their authority. I don't necessarily agree with this belief but understand it. People for whatever reason get a little too intimidated when they see police where tactical gear rather than a traditional uniform. I generally just assume they are in a "who knows what could happen" way of preparedness so I don't get too concerned.

Police around state gain military firepower; critics see danger | Local News | The Seattle Times

 

One question? Why do you think Police Officers are being equipped with the weapons and tools that they're mentioning in your above posts?

One question? Why do you think Police Officers are being equipped with the weapons and tools that they're mentioning in your above posts?

 

Ya know, I can't answer that. And neither can the Obama administration.

 

Rand Paul: Obama should be able to figure out if police need bayonets - The Week

 

RAND PAUL: Mr. Estevez, in the NPR investigation of 1033 program they list that 12,000 bayonets have been given out. What purpose are bayonets being given out for?

 

HON. ALAN ESTEVEZ: Senator, bayonets are available under the program. I can't answer what a local police force would need a bayonet for.

 

PAUL: I can give you an answer: None. So, what's President Obama's administration's position on handing out bayonets to the police force? It's on your list. You guys create the list. Are you going to take it off the list or are we going to keep doing it?

 

ESTEVEZ: We're going to look at what we're providing under the administration's review of all these programs.

 

PAUL: So it's unclear at this point whether President Obama approves of 12,000 bayonets being given out? I would think you could make that decision last week.