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Rand Paul Responds To Ferguson: 'We Must De-Militarize The Police' [View all]
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said on Thursday in a Time magazine op-ed that the events in Ferguson, Mo., meant that it was time to "de-militarize the police."
"There is a legitimate role for the police to keep the peace, but there should be a difference between a police response and a military response," he wrote. "The images and scenes we continue to see in Ferguson resemble war more than traditional police action."
Paul blamed in part the federal programs that allow local law enforcement to obtain military-style equipment.
....
He also touched on the racial component of the Ferguson protests, sparked when unarmed African-American teen Michael Brown was shot by police. The police force in Ferguson is almost entirely white, while the community is two-thirds black.
....
"Anyone who thinks that race does not still, even if inadvertently, skew the application of criminal justice in this country is just not paying close enough attention," he wrote. "Our prisons are full of black and brown men and women who are serving inappropriately long and harsh sentences for non-violent mistakes in their youth."
TPM
"There is a legitimate role for the police to keep the peace, but there should be a difference between a police response and a military response," he wrote. "The images and scenes we continue to see in Ferguson resemble war more than traditional police action."
Paul blamed in part the federal programs that allow local law enforcement to obtain military-style equipment.
....
He also touched on the racial component of the Ferguson protests, sparked when unarmed African-American teen Michael Brown was shot by police. The police force in Ferguson is almost entirely white, while the community is two-thirds black.
....
"Anyone who thinks that race does not still, even if inadvertently, skew the application of criminal justice in this country is just not paying close enough attention," he wrote. "Our prisons are full of black and brown men and women who are serving inappropriately long and harsh sentences for non-violent mistakes in their youth."
TPM
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