Quote Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post

These are not your parents’ cops

As numerous commentators have already noted, American police have undergone a massive transformation in recent decades. Militarized police departments are on the rise, with no sign of this trend slowing any time soon. It started with the war on drugs in the ’80s, followed by the now-famous “1033 Program,” a federal program that allows the military to sell discount weapons, supplies and munitions to local police departments, capped off finally by a massive infusion of new resources following the Sept. 11 attacks. (And while the 1033 program has earned the bulk of the attention, it’s important to note that it’s “only” provided local cops with $4.3 billion in new supplies, a number dwarfed by the $34 billion the Department of Homeland Security has provided since 9/11.)

There are plenty of great explainers that you can read about how all of this came to be; the Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald recently provided a useful summary, as did Amanda Taub for Vox. But even if these accounts do nothing to change your perception of the police today, one must ask: Where does it end? At what point do cops become so weaponized, so hostile to their citizenry and shielded from responsibility or blame that our suspicions of the institution gain merit? And crucially — who gets to decide?
Nail on the head!!!!


Quote Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
When liberals are being critical of cops, the criticism is largely directed at the institution itself, with its habit of overreaching its authority and protecting its own from prosecution whenever possible. It’s an institution that generally bristles at the mere suggestion that oversight is needed (rather than, say, acknowledging oversight as a crucial element of any system that bequeaths exceptional power upon individuals). The legal power to take another person’s life surely merits objective accountability, despite what our friends at the Fraternal Order might tell us. Cops are people – just as fragile and flawed as the rest of us.

When we are critical of cops, then, we’re not attempting to shit-talk your cousin, friend, sister or parent who’s worked on the force for years and represents its best characteristics. We’re criticizing a system that reflexively defends itself from any and all complaint with platitudes intended to shut down debate — such as “not all cops are bad.”
Once again right on target!