Do police need military hardware?

Originally posted 07/06/2011 on lubbockonline.com. I've included the comments on this one. Good information.

Alternet.org asked an interesting question yesterday. "Why Do the Police Have Tanks? The Strange and Dangerous Militarization of of the US Police Force." I know about the 'war on drugs' and the 'war on terror' but are SWAT teams and armored personel carriers really necessary?

U.S. law prohibits the use of the military to enforce U.S. law. That is what civilian police are for. The purpose of the military is to protect us from invasion and kill the enemy. The mission of the civilian police is supposed to be to enforce the law and protect the citizens. "To protect and to serve" was the slogan on the police cars in Adam-12, the late 60's TV police drama. What happens when you give military hardware to police and train them in military tactics, tactics designed to kill the enemy?

For one thing, you see SWAT teams being used to serve search warrants, whether they are needed or not. You see military style raids used to quickly resolve standoffs. A little over a month ago a little girl in Detroit was shot and killed when the SWAT team raided the home she was in. The only shot fired (under disputed circumstances) was fired by a SWAT officer and hit her in the neck. A stun grenade thrown in the window allegedly singed her blankets (or her, depending on who's telling). Almost 10 years ago in Lubbock Sgt. Kevin Cox was fatally shot by friendly fire in standoff that might have been better handled by waiting out the man inside the house than by military style operations - though the situation did fit department guidelines for calling the SWAT team. Just last week in Lubbock the SWAT team was used to serve at least one search warrant. The performed admirably, but were they necessary?

For the past 50 years, give or take, US law prohibiting use of the military to enforce US law has been increasingly subverted by militarizing our civilian police forces. There are good reason the police should not be militarized, but all of them are for the good of the citizens. The only ones who actually benefit from having a militarized police force is the government. When the military and the police are one we have a police state, and we are moving in that direction, slowly but surely.

Felon updates Facebook while police trash room next door

Originally posted 006/24/2011 on lubbockonline.com

He fought the law

Jason Valdez was in a standoff with police. It was so intense he took time to update his Facebook page. I saw the story when it first came out and pondered how his status updates didn't seem to bear up the claims that he was holding a hostage. Police claim the woman with him initially was with him willingly, but once she expressed a desire to leave, she became a hostage. Reports like this one from TechDirt also indicated that some of his Facebook friends could be facing obstruction of justice charges for telling him what police were doing.

A report on Fox13 in Utah covers the aftermath of the standoff. Mr. Valdez is looking at 20 years for attempted murder (he shot at two police officers), and the police department has egg on it's face for the shape it left two hotel rooms adjacent to Mr. Valdez after the standoff:

SWAT's rescue team was in the neighboring motel rooms where gas, power and water had been cut off. After police safely rescued Jensen, there was considerable damage to the motel rooms, holes in the walls, bottles filled with urine. The residents returned home to a mess that was never cleaned up.

I'm not sure who's the actual bad guy in this story, the felon or the cops.