
Not religious, but I say “Amen” to that.
Courtesy of Axios:
Amnesty International issued a statement on Sunday morning calling for an end to militarized policing in several U.S. cities and the use of “excessive force” against demonstrators protesting police brutality.
The human rights group said police across the country were “failing their obligations under international law to respect and facilitate the right to peaceful protest, exacerbating a tense situation and endangering the lives of protesters.”
“Equipping officers in a manner more appropriate for a battlefield may put them in the mindset that confrontation and conflict are inevitable.”
— Amnesty International statement
The National Guard mobilized and curfews were imposed in several states after clashes between police and demonstrators protesting the May 25 death of George Floyd and other black people who’ve died in police custody.
Some officers responded to protests with restraint. Others used batons, tear gas, rubber bullets and other devices to disperse protesters and, in some cases, journalists.
The problem with outfitting yourself for war as a police officer is that you see citizens as enemy combatants instead of as your neighbors and fellow Americans.
If you are somewhere close to my age range you likely remember the incident that inspired the US police to adopt more lethal firepower and military-style protective gear.
In 1997 there was a shootout in West Hollywood that found two heavily armed bank robbers, named Larry Phillips Jr. and Emil Mătăsăreanu, facing off with a number of police officers armed with .38 revolvers and shotguns. (Link)
The two men had outfitted themselves with steel plated body armor and assault weapons with high capacity drum magazines.
In the end, 2,000 rounds of ammunition had been fired, twelve officers and eight civilians had been wounded, the two protagonists were dead, and US police departments were frightened into dramatically upgrading their tactical equipment.
It made sense then, but in the years that have followed, we have seen police officers arriving at potential crime scenes in tanks, decked out in body armor, and sporting the kind of weaponry we used to only see in RoboCop movies.
It is clear to most civilains at least that the line between peace officer and military assault team has been blurred, and now we are seeing startling overreactions that often result in unnecessary civilian casualties and increased animosity toward the police.
So yes, we need to revisit this issue and come up with a solution that protects the police but also reduces the number of responses that look more like an invasion than a simple visit from your friendly neighborhood patrol officer.
Something about posse comitatus………
“hue and cry”
1897
Marking the last “significant” use of a posse, in 1897 the sheriff of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, deputized 100 civilians to supplement 50 deputy sheriffs in confronting 400 striking mine workers at the Latimer Mines.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-1897-massacre-pennsylvania-coal-miners-morphed-galvanizing-crisis-forgotten-history-180971695/
“At 3:45 p.m., at the outskirts of Lattimer, a confrontation ensued. Eighty-six deputies, joined by coal company police, lined the sides of the road; perhaps 150 of the men were armed with rifles and pistols. Martin ordered the miners to abandon their march. Some miners pushed forward, someone yelled “Fire!” and several men immediately fell dead in their tracks. The rest of the miners turned and began to run away, but the firing continued for about two minutes, and over a dozen protesters were shot in the back while fleeing. Nineteen men died that day, and as many as five more died from gunshot wounds later that week.”
Chicken little donnie, hiding from those meanie protesters.
Boo hoo hoo nearly an hour in the bunker, hope they provided refreshments!!
Did he spend his hour calling for calm on twitter or just fuel the fire with his nasty remarks?
======================
Trump took shelter in White House bunker as protests raged
By JONATHAN LEMIRE and ZEKE MILLER – The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) ??” Secret Service agents rushed President Donald Trump to a White House bunker on Friday night as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the executive mansion, some of them throwing rocks and tugging at police barricades.
Trump spent nearly an hour in the bunker, which was designed for use in emergencies like terrorist attacks, according to a Republican close to the White House who was not authorized to publicly discuss private matters and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The account was confirmed by an administration official who also spoke on the condition of anonymity……
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/06/russian-state-media-encouraging-trump-to-let-protests-go-on-to-terrorize-white-people-into-voting-for-him-report/
“That’s why he should wait it out, to create fear and terror. And then he can ride in on a white horse as someone who will restore order. That will be very important for him right now, especially in light of the economic difficulties.” – Kremlin adviser Sergei Markov agreed, stating: ““This is to Trump’s benefit.”
“While Trump has tried repeatedly to cozy up to Putin, what we’re seeing in America now is what the Kremlin has wanted for a long time,”
The figure representing CON*Que$T rides a white horse…
https://news.yahoo.com/2-atlanta-police-officers-were-025607368.html
“After review of that footage, Chief Shields and I have made the determination that two of the officers involved in the incident last night will be terminated immediately,”
I’ve read of multiple instances where the police have attacked members of the press who were reporting on the protests. How would we report on this if it were another country’s police force interfering with the press?
How would we react to the racial violence and mass shootings if they were in another country? I know what I used to think when hearing news like this, I thought, “Glad I don’t live there. That country needs to get its shit together.”
Welcome to a fast deteriorating America. Trump’s answer is to violently crack down on protesters, like any dictator.