Navy vet flips off officer in APC and gets pulled over. What are your thoughts on the militarization of our police force?

It is just cops playing soldier. Sometimes I do believe it inflates their egos though. I heard that there was an incident in Panama City where a MRAP showed up and one of the individuals who were detained was veteran and actually had to show the officers how to work the vehicle correctly . Not sure if it is true or not, but I wouldn't doubt it.

I did receive a call one night from the FOP requesting donations to help fallen police officer's children in event of their death. This guy went on for 25 minutes talking about how police officers risk their lives daily, work under stressful situations, dont get paid a lot, work sometimes for 12 hrs a day, yada yada yada. At the end he asked what I did for a living and I told him I was in the military it went awkward. Lol.

I am for it but I would say that vehicles should be offered to military units and Guard/Reserve components first, then to law enforcement agencies. There is a need for protecting police officers, especially drug enforcement/SWAT type units.

I will say this though, said armored vehicles shouldn't be used for conventional policing like this. Leave traffic stops to units that are on patrol and traffic duty, that's what they are for. Armored vehicles should only be used for situations such as raids where they have reason to believe that lethal actions may be taken against them. Sure they could got shot just as easily on a traffic stop but the odds of it happening are relatively low. If anything put better ballistic panels in squad car doors and use thicker bullet resistant windows if you have the money to spend. Regardless, an APV should not be used for this. Especially not for something as silly as someone flipping you the bird. Hell, I would be surprised if I didn't have someone express distaste towards me in uniform at least once in a while.

The City/county/state police have no need for MRAPs or other armored vehicles. There is already, unfortuntaly, a perception of the police being heavy handed. I don't agree with that sentiment but it is out there. The imagery of cops in armored vehicles and gear the looks more like military than a civillian police unform only adds to the aura.

I have seen police snipers in ghillie suits for crying out loud. Talk about sending the wrong message. The police are here to serve and protect. It is a tough job. I think leadership in the field of policing need to think about the image they project and how they may be perceived.

There is a surplus of MRAP's and other vehicles, so much so, the Marine Corps is leaving or has left about 1500 MRAP's in Afghanistan and/or Iraq and have another 4,000 here in the US which is more than they want/need. Not sure what the Army's position in vehicles is but we have a lot of excess.

I suspect the government writes these down like any other comany would write down a capital asset. After X years it's value on the books in zero. It can be sold for a dollar and no harm, no foul expect to the taxpayers that paid full value for the asset that was never needed.

So free or pennies on the dollars is justification for local police getting armored vehicles? Ok, so if the federal government were getting rid of their supply of M240 machine guns should they be given to police?

i dont know where i stand but i dont like it 100% a step towards Fascism or a "militarized GOVT"

I am very cautious of programs like that. I was in Slidell, LA, visiting family a while back and I saw a M1117 Guardian Armored Security Vehicle in a parking lot with Police markings on it. I was shocked to see this. I don't really think they should have something like this. It isn't really a civilian law enforcement vehicle and it send the wrong image. But if it was Myrtle Beach I am sure they use it for Bike Week. I inquired around and found that their was a plant in Slidell that builds these things and they gave one to the city. I never saw them use it but as you elude too it is a bit of overkill. Some cities like LA or NYC may have better need for these but Myrtle Beach and Slidell not so much.

No, I don't like it.. It isn't the fact that they have the equipment that bothers me so much but the effect it has on the attitudes of the younger officers who are given that type of equipment to use.
Police departments are CIVILIAN organizations.. a lot of veterans do gravitate towards law enforcement professions. That said I have seen far too many situations where a young officer feels the need to play commando and overreact to imagined threats when they are armored up like combat units. It is a bad nuisance in most cases and it is damn dangerous in others. Civilian police are supposed to work for their communities and that means being a part of it. It has...in pockets, typically where overarmed and equipped officers are the norm, become a real problem. These men and women...usually the men, are not becoming a part of the community they police but beginning to create a militaristic image and have the behavior that goes with it.. Extremely unproductive.

I believe we have a fundamental systemic problem with Law Enforcement Officers in this country. Now don't get me wrong. I full support good police officers. They do an incredible job where their decision making skills must be on the same par as Air Traffic Controllers. However, there is an undertone amongst a small percentage officers that they are superior to the average citizen, especially minorities. They have what I call a "God" complex with the attitude that when I tell you to jump you suppose to not only say how high, but when can I come down. They do little too try to descalate a situation, but resort to force, because they can. My father was a Police Officer in Kansas City, Missouri for 25 years. He only had to pull his weapon and discharge it twice in his entire career. He did however, have to use physical force on several occasions, but not deadly force. As a child, I use pray that he would come home at the end of every shift. I now have three grandsons ranging in age from 9 month to 11 years of age. I am fearful that they may someday fall victim to that small percentage of police officer who has a God complex. I try to teach them right from wrong, but also how to respond when you have an interaction with an officer of the law.

I also believe that some officers have served in the military and did not want to endure the multiple relocations the military requires, but still enjoy the adrenaline rush that comes from combat. This is evident by the several reports of officers giving "high five's" to each other after subduing a suspect through physical means.l

There is also an unwritten law in this country that you have to "respect" Law Enforcement Officers. I totally agree with this unwritten law. However, it is NOT a law. So, if you have a situation where a person provides a verbal challenge to an officer concerning their constitutional rights, they are views as disrespecting the law enforcement officer and perceived as a threat. These are situations where conflicts should be de-escalated. Unfortunately often times they are not and the consequences are often tragic.

I guess I have said all of that to basically say their is a culture on many police forces, that they are outnumbered in this fight against crime, so they feel they need to have overwhelming firepower to combat any situation. Yes, we have seen incidents where this was in fact a reality of police forces being out gunned. However, those incidents are rare compared to the military equipment that police forces feel they need. I would much rather see individual State National Guard get that equipment and be called upon when necessary.

They think they are Military and everyone is potentially the enemy. Did anyone else notice the disrespect the deputy gave the real Military Veteran? They need to be put in their place, stripped of their military attack dogs (remember when they were just drug and/or bomb dogs?) and equipment. They should be equipped with tasers and OC spray -unless they are military Veterans at which point they may carry a sidearm. If they don't like it they can partner up with a Veteran. They should also be stripped of the title "Veteran" unless they are actually military Veterans.

From the article: “You were in the Navy. You think that’s a tank?” the deputy shot back. “It’s called an armored personnel carrier.”

If they keep pushing eventually the people will push back... and they already are. Karma is a bitch.

My views may be on the extreme side but it is how I interpret the law.

In the first place, how is it that an undisciplined former sailor gets national news attention for getting stopped for being rude? His actions bring disgrace on all of us.

Police have been using armored vehicles for ages. And helicopters, and something similar to swift boats, and AR 15 derivative weapons and lots more. I am not sure that equates to "militarization of police." In this case, they get the vehicles for a great price. They are not practical for most police purposes, but they are great to have if you are working a case involving heavily armed criminals, riots, or natural disasters. As for giving them to the Guard, sure, that's a good idea. And some units have them. Many don't need them, as their MTOE doesn't call for that type of transport.