Are we over militarizing our police? I give my take this morning on WFAA Channel 8

[Jonathan Stickland]

This morning I had the chance to discuss the possible over militarization of our local police on WFAA's Inside Texas Politics. I believe we have and it is coming at a high cost to tax payers. This country was founded on the idea of self governance, do you agree?

http://www.wfaa.com/video?id=271582901&sec=2008281

[Jonathan Stickland]

Giving the DFW a little taste of LIBERTY every chance I get =)

[Deborah K]

Yes, I agree. (I can't get that link to open...)

[Jonathan Stickland]

Yes, I agree. (I can't get that link to open...)

My segment is the first 8 minutes of the video in the link above. Hope that helps!

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

I'm no expert on speaking, public appearances, etc., but I think that's a good segment. I've been on TV twice and know it's hard to say everything you want to say in such a short segment.

Even the practical arguments used by order enforcement falls apart upon closer scrutiny. Equipment like heavy vehicles is a poor return on investment because of pick-up/delivery cost, low gas mileage, storage, modifications, regular maintenance, training, etc.

[HOLLYWOOD]

For the drop in crime since the early 1990s... you could also include "FREAKANOMICS" (http://freakonomics.com/) data coverage into the mix, it's far from being just the brute force of the Police State. Balko did such a good job back in 2006 with Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cato.org%2Fpublications%2Fwhi te-paper%2Foverkill-rise-paramilitary-police-raids-america&ei=kWbxU5TPHY33oAT86IDwDw&usg=AFQjCNHl6TTgbRvhOqJJXurHxY9YWOxFQA&bvm=bv.73231344,d.cGU)

Let's not forget, how the police recently lied about relocating media's live field coverage, when it was proven the police actually attacked the news crews with rubber bullets and CS tear gas(Al Jazeera America and INFOWARS). They had their lighting gear, cameras/tripods, etc... the police knew exactly who they were attacking. Absolute power corrupts absolutely... everyday you hear about another rights violating tragedy inflicted by the authoritarian state. That statistic of more Americans having been killed by police in this country, then all the military personnel lost in the Iraq since 9/11, should be the wake up call to America. Look at two notorious abusers: Albuquerque PD and Las Vegas metro PD. The LV Review Journal did an analysis of all the killing by LV Metro and like 90% of the deaths should and could of been avoided. BTW, these two metro PD have received incredible amounts of military weapons and armor and such reflects their abuses and assaults on the public. Albuquerque PD has like the largest stockpile of surplus military equipment, including grabbing the of most automatic weapons, grenade launchers, & amour. Look at the killings going on down in ABQ and the protests and subsequent investigations demanded by the people.

Then, the courts and whatever shadow authorities are giving police nationwide the authority to kill with impunity, with very little or no accountability. DAs, Judges, tripwire legal proceedings or restrict evidence. Personal conversations have revealed police departments have lawyers review all written out reports PRIOR to the official submission. Rigging the entire state against the people from beginning to end.

[Feeding the Abscess]

The country was not founded on the principle of self-governance. The creation of America took a decentralized, weak federal government and made it much more powerful and centralized.

It's time libertarians start attacking police as tools and defenders of the State, rather than arguing over how these tools are implemented. If you want a dollar, stop asking for 50 cents as your bargaining position.

[2young2vote]

You did a very good job. You sound calm and confident and stated your position in a way that didn't sound extreme.

[donnay]

Law enforcement today, are the standing army our founders warned us about.

“A standing army is one of the greatest mischief that can possibly happen”
~ James Madison

“None but an armed nation can dispense with a standing army”
~ Thomas Jefferson


“Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe. the supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any bands of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States.”
~ Noah Webster

[nobody's_hero]

Hindsight is 20-20, but if you go on air about this again, I'd bring up the increase in violence committed by law enforcement as a counter-statistic to the claim that violent crime has dropped. It may be entirely true that violent crime has dropped since the feds started giving away free military equipment to rural one-cop towns across the nation, but we have certainly seen an increase in police violence such as no-knock raids on wrong-addresses, use of deadly force, etc.

Blackstone once said that it is better that 100 guilty people go free than to have one innocent wrongly accused (or executed, rather, which is sometimes the outcome when cops get the wrong intel on a residence).

So I would pose the question, 'Is it a fair trade off to see a drop in violent crime in exchange for an increase in innocent deaths at the hands of law enforcement?'

[William Tell]

Link did not work for me, but found it with an internet search:
http://www.wfaa.com/story/local/2014/09/04/14331112/

[tod evans]

Too much policing is the direct result of too much legislation...

Over militarization is the natural progression of too many kops/laws...

For those who give a shit, think about the next step...:eek: