Walton County Sheriff’s Office Mike Adkinson states that their department just got a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle (MRAP) for “an insurance policy,” in order to keep deputies safe in dangerous situations – citing examples past violence in the country.
However one journalist, Justin King, calls out Adkinson’s claims of violence as over exaggerated, instead stating that the county is virtually crime free.
Walton County Sheriff’s Officer Mike Adkinson denied that the purchase of the vehicle was an attempt to militarize the police department, adding that he wouldn’t let public opinion get in the way of the “safety” of his colleagues.
“This is not the federal government intruding on your civil liberties,” wrote Adkinson in a Facebook post. “Would you really want them sent into harm’s way without the best protection available, simply because the military originally purchased this vehicle?”
This didn’t stop residents expressing their anger at the decision to buy the vehicle, with one commenting that the purchase represented “an offensive intimidation method used to controll [sic] and strike fear.”
Another respondent agreed, remarking, “This doesn’t make the officers safer. All studies show that the more militarized a department becomes, the more often officers get hurt. This is Walton County, Florida, not Iraq, not Afghanistan.”
As Justin King points out, despite Adkinson’s effort to justify the purchase by pointing to examples where cops have had to deal with suspects barricaded inside their homes, Walton is such a peaceful and virtually crime free neighborhood that it was used to represent an idyllic American town in the 1998 movie The Truman Show.
“Walton County is a part of Florida that is so crime free you can leave your doors unlocked. When Hollywood location scouts were looking for a community so perfect that it appeared to be fake, they came to Walton County. The Truman Show, staring Jim Carey, was filmed on location in a small Walton County community,” writes King, accusing the Sheriff’s department of abandoning common sense by purchasing the vehicle and pointing out that it is only likely to spur additional violence.
“This vehicle is an implement of war. It has no place in this county. The decision to bring this to a small community will only increase violence against citizens by creating a combat mindset in deputies. This violence will be returned, and deputies will face violence on a level not seen before in Walton County,” writes King.
just check the numbers, ammo figures, DHS own a arsenal and that’s not only AR’s and M-16’s either. Their strockpile of .50 Cal rounds will blow ones mind. It doesn’t take a math genius to figure what’s up. Join the military, get experience, cause you’re gonna need it soon. Semper Fi
Kenneth Boone I can’t believe your hate and ignorance in those comments.
Someone, please tell me one incidence where the police required such a vehicle to “combat” street crime? I guess next they’ll be supplying em Abrams, then F-16’s. hahahaha!
Oh yeah Chris great message and great representation of the military. “Feed your paranoia by joining the military so you can effectively fight cops”. I’m ashamed that you tote yourself around as a Veteran. Shame on you.
Brain washed … … right down to the pose.
The people who are putting faith into these vehicles, and those who are so concerned about police having them and using them against civilians evidently don’t know, as we vets do, just how easily they are disabled and rendered useless. The scary part of this, the part that all should be very concerned about, is how and with what will the robbers respond with now that the cops have escalated to military grade hardware from boots to bullets.
Insurance policy? Bull$#%&!@* , keep believing everything the D.O.D tells you.
M.Allen Taylor that is the most intelligent counter-argument I have heard this entire thread.
this is for the use of controlling united states citizens when he decides to do his thing the one thing they do know the task ahead of these police departments is not going to be an easy one and there are places these Armored Vehicles can not go for that ground war that is going to take place we will destroy their new toys that they do not need Militia is huge in America and they will find that out
We have savage animals all around look at the slobs in Ferguson.