The Militarization of Policing in America
American neighborhoods are increasingly being policed by cops armed with the weapons and tactics of war. Federal
funding in the billions of dollars has allowed state and local police
departments to gain access to weapons and tactics created for overseas
combat theaters – and yet very little is known about exactly how many
police departments have military weapons and training, how militarized
the police have become, and how extensively federal money is
incentivizing this trend. It’s time to
understand the true scope of the militarization of policing in America
and the impact it is having in our neighborhoods. Since March 6th, ACLU
affiliates in 25 states filed over 260 public records requests with law
enforcement agencies and National Guard offices to determine the extent
to which federal funding and support has fueled the militarization of
state and local police departments. Stay tuned as this project develops.
Check out this map of the law enforcement agencies with which ACLU Affiliates have filed public records requests.
Consider
these ten chilling stories. If the anecdotal evidence is any
indication, use of military machinery such as tanks and grenades, as
well as counter-terrorism tactics, encourage overly aggressive policing –
too often with devastating consequences:
Confused
after throwing a deafening and blinding “flashbang” into a home, police
mistakenly shot and killed a sleeping nine-year-old.
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Police
in North Dakota borrowed a $154 million Predator drone from Homeland
Security to arrest a family who refused to return six cows that wandered
onto their farm.
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A
county sheriff’s department in South Carolina has an armored personnel
carrier dubbed "The Peacemaker," which can shoot weapons that the U.S.
military specifically refrains from using on people.
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Police in Arkansas announced plans to patrol streets wearing full SWAT gear and carrying AR-15 assault rifles.
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New
Hampshire police received federal funds for a counter-attack vehicle,
asking “what red-blooded American cop isn’t going to be excited about
getting a toy like this?”
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Drone manufacturers may offer police remote controlled drones with weapons like rubber bullets, Tasers, and tear gas.
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Two
SWAT Teams shut down a neighborhood in Colorado for four hours to
search for a man suspected of stealing a bicycle and merchandise from
Wal-Mart.
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An
Arizona SWAT team defended shooting an Iraq War veteran 60 times during
a drug raid, but had to retract its claim that the veteran shot first.
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A
company in Arizona submitted a patent for shock cuffs, which can be
used by cops to remotely administer a Taser-like shock to detainees.
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The New York City Police Department disclosed that it deployed “counter-terror” measures against Occupy Movement protesters.
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