When did law enforcement become 'troops?'

[pokerfan]

:wtf:

I'm not entirely comfortable with the conflation of peace officer with a military force.

[uppityperson]

1. that is disgusting. Thank you. k&r for I'm not either

[juno jones]

2. About the time they donned helmets and riot gear at the drop of a hat. n/t

[pokerfan]

4. found a couple of articles

First saw it here:
http://radgeek.com/gt/2009/05/07/occupying_forces

Google found these:
http://gangstersinblue.org/category/new-york
http://www.theagitator.com/2009/05/04/part-of-the-problem-3

[juno jones]

17. Oh my.

Some pithy comments there too.

I ran into riot cops once, while spending a surreal new year's eve in SF. My friends and I turned (walking) up Powell and ran into a line of barricades and riot cops who were basically swweping everyone into this dead-end corral. It seemed to be fairly random too, everything around was fairly quiet, literally, across the street was another world that was trying not to notice what was appearing to be the harassment and meanacement of some citizens while others were ignored. Of course, the crowd inside the barricades were angry, they hadn't done a thing and just wanted to get on with their evening. Or just go home, there were a bunch of really young kids who looked like locals who were caught up in the crush, They looked very frightened.

We got out of there eventually. And it wasn't because some authority figure allowed to leave.

This ad just confirms for me something I've thought about for a long time.

[gratuitous]

19. Particularly riot gear without their names on it

That's what irked me most of all, contending with the jack-boots during demonstrations in Portland. They all look the same with their black vests, helmets and opaque visors. So if one of them starts cracking heads, there's no way to tell who it was. As averse as the police are generally to holding their own accountable, you know they sure as hell aren't going to punish a whole group of their own just because a citizen received a little crude brain surgery from one of their anonymous ranks.

[Raineyb]

3. WTF?

The NYPD is disgusting enough as it is. This... well it's another layer of crap on an already shitty sandwich.

Quite frankly, they already treat us like they're an occupying force here to enforce order. This shit is really, really, really not helpful.

[tech3149]

6. Welcome to reality

I've seen this developing since the 70's I've worked around law enforcement and have friends who serve. Most tend to ignore the facts in front of their face. There is very little reason to militarize law enforcement except to sell hardware to help make them feel all powerful and invincible.

Think about these tidbits. How much benefit is there for a small town of a few thousand to have a SWAT team and millions of dollars worth of hardware and training expenses? How often are SWAT teams used to serve warrants and how has that usage accelerated over the last few decades? How many times a year are no knock policies used against someone who is totally innocent?

I've had the conversation more than a few times arguing that law enforcement tends to attract people with an authoritarian nature. After watching and reading about the Stanford experiment, I tend to think that only a small percentage are drawn to the profession because of the power the position allows. I think most are good people with good intentions but susceptible to the authority over others becoming an aphrodisiac.

[Raineyb]

8. You are right of course

It is rather disconcerting to see the stupid banner announcing it.

The attitude was always obvious to those of us who have to live with the NYPD. The complaints of the NYPD coming into the city and acting like a hostile occupying army has been going on for years. It flares up every time some stupid cop gets "scared" and blows an unarmed black man away so unfortunately, I'm not surprised by the attitude just the blatancy of it.

[paulsby]

11. i was drawn to law enforcement because i value freedom and dislike authority

it's a great job if you are a self starter, work well under minimal supervision, and can make decisions quickly and in the heat of battle (ooh there's another military term).

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

16. That makes sense, but whether the lust for power is a cause or a consequence of joining the police

seems to be of limited relevance. Or maybe not, I'm not quite sure.

[Mike K]

26. How Often. . . . ?

For an answer to your question re: how often no-knock warrants are served, go here:

Cato Map on SWAT Raids
http://www.cato.org/raidmap/

[TreasonousBastard]

5. Fuckin' PBA-- can't get NYC cops a decent raise, but they can...

set up a multi-million dollar slush fund paid for by the city and fall in love with assholes like Giuliani (who the cop in the street hated).

Now they pull this bullshit?

[backtoblue]

7. Police are trained in "urban warfare".

I've noticed an unsettling increase in the number of policemen in my small town. It seems unnecessary to have more than 10 cops in a town of 2500. It's almost like a "secondary army" if you will, but for US.

Think about it: If you wanted control over certain areas(precincts,etc), building up some form of militia is necessary to keep that control.

[lib2DaBone]

9. I noticed it the COPS TV show started.....

Remember when PAPA Bush cut all the social saftey nets and told the country that they shouod VOLUNTEER... "A Thousand Points Of Light"?

That's when I really noticed the streets getting mean. They started that supid TV show, and the Neocons began their death grip with the moral majority and the war on poor people.

[paulsby]

10. law enforcement is a paramilitary organization

thus, the word "troops" is not inapt.

one of my supervisors refers to us as his "troops"

of course he's a former marine. and he likes that kind of terminology a lot

[madokie]

12. I first started hearing our hiway patrolmen refered to as troopers years ago

best I remember it was around the time I was paying my first trafic fine

[Wednesdays]

13. K&R

:kick:

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

14. This bumper sticker could be about a specific problem.

Many departments are giving their officers a lot of crap if they get deployed. Just a thought.

David

[datasuspect]

15. it started with the drug war

grew more with clinton's war on poor people, became a bona fide fact after 9-11 when the nation grew a collective erection for anything in uniform.

[Echo In Light]

18. Tip-toe totalitarianism, all by design to make $ and deal with undesirables

[Freddie Stubbs]

20. The term "State Trooper" has been around for a very long time

[pokerfan]

23. not so much a problem with the term, trooper

as a problem with the militarization of law enforcement in general. The billboard makes it look like the equivalent of the armed forces.

[davepc]

21. That's nothing. Police Dept in South Carolina has an APC with a belt fed .50.

http://www.policemag.com/Interstitial/Global.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fNews%2f2008%2f03%2f06%2fS-C-Sheriffs-Department-Armored-Vehicle-with-Belt-Fed-Machine-Gun.aspx

http://observers.france24.com/en/content/20080904-sheriff-peacemaker-county-machine-gun-tank-police

[Raineyb]

22. They look like they're compensating for other inadequacies.

:shrug:

I'm just sayin'

[davepc]

24. excessive budget?

Of course to justify these toys they need to do more and more "high risk" operations like serving no-knock warrants on suspected meth labs in the sticks...If it turns out the place was just Grandmas cabin in the woods, well...oops.

[earth mom]

25. Now that's some scary shit.

:yoiks:

[Obamanaut]

27. Seeing troops of Girl Scouts intimidating the elderly into buying

cookies is scary also.

Or Boy Scouts, or Brownies, etc.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

28. It got worse with SWAT

with cops wearing balaclavas. Not your friendly cop-on-the-beat.

And I think some cops call us "civilians", as if "police" is a branch of the military.

Just more "them" vs "us".