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.
Besides government menacing for no reasons but bad ones, this costs taxpayers totally unnecessarily…but the MIC profits are huge !
Why are people bitching about a vehicle that keeps people safe on the inside? I think all these people that hate on cops have a severely misinformed perspective on police. They are just like you and I, most of them disagree with the way our country is going just like you and I. They aren’t out to get you they are out to protect peace and maintain standards of our society. A vehicle does not turn the police force into an army. So before you bitch about cops look at your damn selves. Follow the law, get a job and pull up your damn pants.
Gee, the last time I heard we don’t have any mines here in this country!!!
id like a vehicle like that to bug out in
Total waste of taxpayer dollars unless the are going to police all of us citizens! No, do you think, ya probably Not.
I see words scare you Dawn
Donate it to Texas,these men need it 1000 times more then you do. we are the first line of defence in protecting our boarders.
They’re gearing up for what’s to come in the near future! Eventually every state police precinct and Sheriff’s dept will be given military hardware to be used on the American people! Our own govt now consideres the American people the enemy!….
My job takes me all over United States I see these vehicles and similar being given to small and large departments and such
The unstable economy this country state of government people stop looking at the tree and start looking at the Forrest … The big picture . What do you think they are preparing for ?
It’s all fun toys…bring them back to meter maid status!