What are your thoughts on “Militarizing the Police?”

It's not militarization just because they are using surplus gear and equipment. I'm so sick of people trying to say that law enforcement is dressing up and getting ready to take over the country from the people. Cops are humans and American citizens like everyone else. Anyone who thinks that they are going to band together and enforce a police state on America, on their own neighbors, family and friends is a fool.

Law enforcement on a day to day basis put a target on themselves in the form of a badge for the sake of working for the people of their community. Given that fact and the fact that many criminals would rather risk a shoot out with the cops than go back to jail, I don't exactly understand why it's even so much as a question as to whether or not police need those protections.

The San Bernardino shooting was a prime example of why police need access to that equipment. Look at the picture attached to that article, the police blocked the shooters in with two well armored vehicles and appear to be wearing an ample amount of body armor as well. Now tell me, how many officers did you hear about hospitalized or killed while involved in the shootout with those two? Got your answer? Good, now I want you to take the same situation but instead of the police rolling in like they did I want you to imagine the cops blocking these two psychopaths in with a couple of Ford Crown Vics with at most a small ballistic panel in the door and while wearing nothing more than a small vest and wielding their side arms, maybe their shot guns. I'm pretty sure although the police would have still came out on top there would have been significant injuries if not deaths in their ranks.

The police need those vehicles and they need the firearms, and the body armor, and everything else they have been getting. The criminals keep evolving and coming up with new ways to kill those who stand in their way, namely the police. As criminals evolve their tactics, so too should the police to be able to stop those threats before more innocent lives are damaged and destroyed.

Sgt Mike Williams
Like others, I'm kind of torn. On one hand, police need to be able to protect themselves. But on the other hand, them using military equipment could be one step closer to the declaration of Martial Law.

I do not think law enforcement should have the same capabilities as the military. I think there is a need for certain types of military equipment. The National Guard should be called in to assist law enforcement if they are not able to restore order.

Some specific units (SWAT) need similar small arms and tactics to ours. No policeman needs an MRAP, MMG or other CSW. They need to more carefully consider when to kit up. Likely to be shot at with rifles? Carry one also, and wear a flak and ammo rig. Likely threat only pistols? Stick with your normal vest and your own pistol. Bricks and molotvs? Shields, helmets, sticks.

But the images we've seen out of Fergeson? Full kit and weapons up against the unarmed? Idiocy.

I think the quotes below were my favorite part of the Senate discussion. Police departments are accepting all the military equipment because it is free, whether they need it or not. Then once they have it they feel like they should be using it. The police have a completely different mission than the military and much of our equipment is non-compatible with a police mission where the police are supposed to be part of the community. US police mentality should be community member first, not fix bayonets and charge.

Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky was, for his part, particularly puzzled about why 12,000 bayonets have been made available to police departments, and asked Estevez for his thoughts on the matter.

“I cannot answer what use bayonets would be,” Estevez said.

“I can answer it for you,” Senator Paul said. “None.”

Most law enforcement agencies have had access to military grade equipment since the end of WWII. Typically law enforcement agencies see a bump in military equipment when more war surplus is available. What the police have now is actually a social media war in which opinions about incidents are formed with lightening speed on Twitter  and other sites. This makes the investigative process more difficult, impartial jurors harder to find, and fair trials more difficult. The police are using outdated communications techniques and are unable to defuse situations because they lack the skills to counter negative social media attacks. These, in turn, become actual, physical attacks and escalate violence.

I think that it is an unfortunate necessity for the police to have access to armored vehicles and military equipment, and San Bernardino illustrates why.
I feel uncomfortable with the idea in principle, but I understand why many communities and departments feel they need this equipment to deal with possible threats.

I'm still generally opposed. Especially to the armored vehicles. Up-armors were one of our biggest challenges to use correctly in country, let alone here domestically (it is far more effective for security and maintaining relationships to patrol dismounted etc..)

Active shooters can be effectively addressed by good marksmen with AR's, no need for M4s with all the gucci trash and plate carriers, cammies, kevlars, grenades and so on. Do we need SWAT? Probably, does every patrolman need the SWAT? No, no they do not.

THIS is necessary to do their job?

The militarization of the police is a huge problem. The police have a potentially dangerous job but people need to quit overstating how dangerous that job is. It's funny how with the increase in the militarization of police force there has been an increase in deaths of civilians at the hands of the police. I mean, when you get a new toy you want to play with it. We have police forces driving around in full body armor and with armored personnel carriers and mine resistant vehicles. these are the tools of the miltary in war zones. No cop is in a war zone, so why are they using the same gear we use to fight AL quaeda and isis? To fight terrorism here in america? 911 has been the justification for local police receiving this gear. And how many terror attacks have we had in the states in the past 14yrs, just 1. So yeah let's keep militarizing the police because that makes a lot of sense.