Concern grows over the militarization of the police. Ferguson police looks like an army. -Yahoo

Riot police in Ferguson, Missouri. -Yahoo

Police responding to riots in Ferguson are armed with military surplus and look like an army. -Yahoo. Some of the officers had military fatigues, body armor, gas masks and military surplus vehicles. Former soldiers on social media claim that the police have better weapons and armor then they did in Iraq. Many police departments received this equipment in the aftermath of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The government claims that giving the weapons and equipment is an efficient way to avoid government waste, but civil rights groups claim that arming police likes soldiers lead to abuses. 

My Comment:

The deployment of military style units to Ferguson is no surprise. Given the conditions of rioting and looting it's probably the most justified example in recent history. I might have a longer post this weekend on how hypocritical the media is in decrying this incident but not some of the ones that preceded it. Having said all that, at least the media is talking about this. I've been worried about the militarization of the police since my college days but until very recently the issue was a fringe one. Arming the police like soldiers is wrong because it promotes an us versus them mentality. The police serve the public and aren't meant to go to war with them. Sure we need some specialized swat teams but they should be deployed in only the most serious incidents, not every time they want to raid a house. 

And I feel the growth of these military-style police units is a larger reason why people have such a negative opinion of the police right now. When I said that it fosters an us versus them mentality, I wasn't just talking about the police. These units are deployed in circumstances that don't require force and have recorded plenty of abuses. And they make mistakes. When people hear about cops needlessly shooting pet dogs or raiding the wrong house and accidentally killing a kid with a stun grenade they aren't going to support cops.

I like cops. I know a lot of cops. I have never had a bad experience with a cop, even the ones that pulled me over. But I don't like cops armed with better guns then I have and driving MRAP'S.