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Why police officers often resort to lethal force as their first response
Dara Lind
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A New Year's Resolution: Don't Call the Police
Mike Ludwig
Friday, December 26, 2014
Dara Lind — Why police officers often resort to lethal force as their first response
VOX
Why police officers often resort to lethal force as their first response
Dara Lind
Also
A New Year's Resolution: Don't Call the Police
Mike Ludwig
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10 comments:
Don't waste your money hiring a hitman, just call the cops.
"Why you are in mortal peril if a police officer thinks he is in mortal peril. As the fear factor rises, it doesn't take much."
That's a very good observation. Ultimately, it's the police officer's call. But, why are these guys so jumpy?
Besides, we must keep in mind that these shootings often seem to involve black suspects. Why are police officers particularly scared of them and not of white ones? Is there any reason?
And Tasers or pepper spray aren't the solution either: here in Oz police use them, all right. In Queensland cops just love them: they seem to be just great to torture prisoners inside police stations (generally Aborigines, btw).
In the US, many, many municipal peace officers now get their training from the Israeli military, in Israel. sanctioned by Homeland Security. http://www.homelandsecurityssi.com/homeland-security-training-israel
Ditto Customs.
Since military training for local law enforcement is illegal in the US, doing it in a foreign jurisdiction gets around the ban.
Our peace officers are being trained to view Blacks as Palestinians and to shoot first. It should be illegal. http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/rania-khalek/israel-trained-police-occupy-missouri-after-killing-black-youth
Magpie, they're also doing it in Australia.
That's a very good observation. Ultimately, it's the police officer's call. But, why are these guys so jumpy?
First the proliferation of guns in the US. It's very easy for anyone to obtain one.
Secondly, the war on drugs started offensive policing rather than chiefly defensive. Most police departments began to use SWAT (special weapons) teams.
Third, the global war on terror upped the ante considerably, especially when the definition of "terrorist" was expanded to include civil disobedience and political dissent.
Fourthly, police culture became hardened along with the general culture when rude began to take over.
Fifthly, bias and prejudice, racial and otherwise. Police bashed plenty of white hippies and anti-war protestors in the 60's and 70's. Of course, our chanting "off the pig" at demonstrations added fuel to the fire.
Sixthly, and most important is professionalism. The level of professionalism in many police departments is low and there is a culture that is traceable to the top that condones or even encourages unprofessional behavior.
Besides, we must keep in mind that these shootings often seem to involve black suspects. Why are police officers particularly scared of them and not of white ones? Is there any reason?
Racism is pretty endemic in the US and not just against black people. All people of color are at a disadvantage owing to both outright prejudice and general cultural bias. But white people that fit the profile are also disadvantaged in places where being poor or not fitting in is itself a criminal profile.
And Tasers or pepper spray aren't the solution either: here in Oz police use them, all right. In Queensland cops just love them: they seem to be just great to torture prisoners inside police stations (generally Aborigines, btw).
Actually, tasers, peeper spray, etc. have made the situation worse. In the past police either had to rely on guns or billy clubs and they were somewhat reluctant to use them. Now, non-lethal weapons are often used indiscriminately, generally because "they don't actually harm anyone."
Tom, you're describing results and consequences of a more mundane cause: the Pentagon's 1033 program (which is why Israel took advantage of it and taught local law enforcement departments how to use this high-powered equipment).
See:
"War Gear Flows to Police Departments"
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/09/us/war-gear-flows-to-police-departments.html
"Police Militarization Is Out of Control, and There’s No Oversight"
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/08/14/are-police-forces-excessively-armed/police-militarization-is-out-of-control-and-theres-no-oversight
"Ferguson Police are a Small Army"
http://abcnews.go.com/US/ferguson-police-small-army-thousands-police-departments/story?id=2497729
Military Guns Missing From Police Agencies"
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/abcfusion-investigation-military-guns-missing-police-agencies/story?id=25185891
And all this has produced unintended consequences that are spiralling out of control.
Meant to add:
"Tom, you're describing results and consequences of a more mundane cause: the Pentagon's 1033 program (which is why Israel took advantage of it and taught local law enforcement departments how to use this high-powered equipment with no US oversight or control, and without our constitutional values as a basis of operation or training)."
And all this has produced unintended consequences that are spiralling out of control.
The US has been galloping toward becoming a full-on fascist state since 9/ll in many ways. Police militarization is one of them, but it was already happening before 9/11 owing to the war on drugs. But that is just one of the many manifestations.
The US is increasingly becoming to look like Orwell's 1984. There is considerable push back here in Iowa over the installation of traffic cameras. Of course, most establishments have security systems already and it is just a small step to neighborhood cameras.
Privacy is already a thing of the past and the courts are eviscerating the Bill of Rights and constitutional liberties. Civil rights are headed back to the days before the Civil Rights movement.
It goes on and on. And there's probably a good deal that we don't know about and don't suspect, judging from the Manning, Wikileaks, and Snowden revelations.
Some of this may be unintended by politicians but as a whole it fits the aspirations of the Deep State, which is the real danger of fascism in the US. They intend the consequences of greater control for a great good, you know, because national security. As a result the US has become a national security state, a surveillance state, and is well on its what to becoming a police state.
I don't think for a minute that these are entirely unrelated and unintended consequences. Fascists are essentially extreme nationalists that deeply believe that the end justifies the the means, and they consider themselves good people and the defenders of "freedom."
This is the essence of fascism. Those in the know have to make ordinary people slaves to control in order to preserve "our (national) freedom" from "those that hate our freedoms." Evil or psychopathic?
Good quote, or line: "Those in the know have to make ordinary people slaves to control in order to preserve "our (national) freedom" from "'those that hate our freedoms.'"
The Pentagon's 1033 Program started in 1990, so there has been a long time to get this police state grounded. What does a sleepy town of 11,000 need automatic rifles, night scopes, and a tank for?
Domestic militarization and central control by the deep state is all supposed to be in aid of preventing "terrorism" and "keeping us safe." Conveniently it is rolled out at the prospect of political dissent, and now the definition of "terrorist" is predictably expanding to all "enemies of the state." Right out of Orwell.
The aim is to increase the climate of fear that enables the deep state and those they serve to control the populace and whack those they perceive as stepping out of line.
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