When residents took to the streets to protest the recent killing of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown by local police in the small town of Ferguson, Missouri, we get a clear look at today’s law enforcement – not exactly persons you would feel comfortable calling should you need to be protected or served.
Instead of showing up to help serve citizens exercising their rights to protest against an injustice, these law enforcement officers show up in full military gear, flaunting an ‘us vs them’ mentality.
This is the new USA.
“Why do these cops need MARPAT camo pants again,” I asked on Twitter this morning. One of the most interesting responses came from a follower who says he served in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division: “We rolled lighter than that in an actual warzone,” writes Paul Szoldra from Business Insider, who wrote an penned an article questioning the recent change in our law enforcement.
There can be no doubt that American citizens are the new ‘insurgents’. The state is obviously preparing for a coming event. Are you aware of this? Are you prepared?
We looked intimidating, but all of our vehicles and equipment had a clear purpose for combat against enemy forces. So why is this same gear being used on our city streets?
On Saturday, a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown, an unarmed black man. In the days that have followed, the town with a population of about 21,000 has seen massive protests in response to the shooting, as some witnesses said Brown had his hands up when he was killed.
Putting aside what started the protests for a moment, it’s worth discussing the police response to the outrage. In photos taken Monday, we are shown a heavily armed SWAT team.
They have short-barreled 5.56-mm rifles based on the military M4 carbine, with scopes that can accurately hit a target out to 500 meters. On their side they carry pistols. On their front, over their body armor, they carry at least four to six extra magazines, loaded with 30 rounds each.
AP Photo/Jeff Roberson
Police officers try to disperse a crowd Monday in Ferguson, Missouri.
Their uniform would be mistaken for a soldier’s if it weren’t for their “Police” patches. They wear green tops, and pants fashioned after the U.S. Marine Corps MARPAT camouflage pattern. And they stand in front of a massive uparmored truck called a Bearcat, similar in look to a mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle, or as the troops who rode in them call it, the MRAP.
When did this become OK? When did “protect and serve” turn into “us versus them”?
“Why do these cops need MARPAT camo pants again,” I asked on Twitter this morning. One of the most interesting responses came from a follower who says he served in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division: “We rolled lighter than that in an actual warzone.”
AP/Jeff Roberson
The police point their weapons at a car as it pulls away after tear gas was used by authorities Monday in Ferguson, Missouri.
Let’s be clear: This is not a war zone — even if the FAA banned flights under 3,000 feet. This is a city outside of St. Louis where people on both sides are angry. Protesters have looted and torched a gas station, and shots were fired at police, according to The Washington Post.
The scene is tense, but the presence of what looks like a military force doesn’t seem to be helping.
“Bring it. You fucking animals, bring it,” one police officer was caught on video telling protesters. In Ferguson and beyond, it seems that some police officers have shed the blue uniform and have put on the uniform and gear of the military, bringing the attitude along with it.
Matt Ford, the social-media editor at The Atlantic, summed it up well:
And here’s journalist Radley Balko, author of “Rise of the Warrior Cop“:
In Afghanistan, we patrolled in big, armored trucks. We wore uniforms that conveyed the message, “We are a military force, and we are in control right now.” Many Afghans saw us as occupiers.
And now we see some of our police officers in this same way. “The militarization of law enforcement is counter-productive to domestic policing and needs to stop,” tweeted Andrew Exum, a former Army infantry officer.
If there’s one thing I learned in Afghanistan, it’s this: You can’t win a person’s heart and mind when you are pointing a rifle at his or her chest.
Let’ see what the federal goverment is going to do about it! If they do nothing, Guess what? Wecome to the new Police state, part of the N.W.O. In Other words, nobody matters and take controll anyway you can!
Rubber bullets…..
The people have a right to be angry, but this situation is so multilayered, rooted in bad elements, volatile, that it asks america to take a long long look in the mirror
I hope everyone saw the video of the young black man that was encouraging the rioters to stop what they were doing because the store owners that have had their businesses burned and looted did nothing to deserve that.People are using this unfortunate incident to act stupid and take what they want because of it.These other police officers have to protect themselves.and other innocent people that are being terrorized. The people that are acting a fool need to go home and pray that God will forgive them for their sins
Idk all the details about what happen and understand the people of the community are angry but that’s no excuse for them to loot and destroy other peoples property. Maybe with a armed police presence they stop that c**p
I think this is why the founding fathers wrote the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution.
I think it is time everyone stood back take a deep breath and peacefully wait until we get all the facts, as for all you ‘out-of-towners’ and professional ‘trouble-makers’, please leave now.
NYPD should show these guys the right way to do things
they shot an unarmed 18 year old 10 times. once in the front. then in the back as he tried to run. he fell to the ground after the second shot. then the officer got out of his car and walked up to brown and fired 8 more times into his back. that’s murder. if he robbed a store does due process not apply to him? do cops routinely arrest people from the drivers seat of their squad car. don’t believe the garbage that the department is spewing.
and mr J Pat Davis you are precisely what is wrong in America today. had that cop properly done his job Brown would still be alive. and if their robbery charges are real then why is his accomplice for the crime on tv and not in jail for the robbery. you want everyone to sit down and shut up just like the government. its sad. and youre seriously pathetic to try to tell anyone to do anything. the people of this country have a right to be angry and to protest and to demand answers when cops are killing people in record numbers all over the country. in 2012 cops lost 72 officers in the line of duty. yet in 2012 cops killed over 500 civilians. do you consider that good or justifiable? and we pay them to treat us like their slaves when theyre supposed to work for us. its absurd and you should be ashamed of yourself. and since 9/11 only 5500 troops have died in combat over seas yet since 9/11 cops have killed over 7000 americans. wheres the real war zone? you need to get off facebook and do some research of your own. the facts are there. you just have to know how to read to see them.