Militarization of police: SWAT teams now used in minor drug arrests

[donnay]

Militarization of police: SWAT teams now used in minor drug arrests

RT
Fri, 10 Jul 2015 05:45 UTC

Newly acquired documents show that over a two-year period, Massachusetts SWAT teams were mostly deployed to serve warrants and arrests for minor drug offenses, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Nine hundred pages of documents show how SWAT teams are being routinely deployed to carry out tasks that were previously considered ordinary police work, according to the ACLU of Massachusetts.

"The single-most reason for deployment wasn't for public safety concerns, but for drug offenses," Jessie Rossman, staff attorney with the ACLU, told the Boston Globe.

For the first time, the documents show policies, procedures and organizational charts for SWAT teams, as well as military-style equipment lists showing two armored BearCat vehicles, night vision goggles, grenades and high-tech firearms.

The trove also includes "after action reports" for 79 SWAT deployments in Middlesex and Essex counties during August 2012 and June 2014, when the ACLU was able to see how the teams were being used. What it found was that teams showed up for barricade scenarios, serving warrants, suicide situations, crowd control at events like a Hells' Angels rally, the Dalai Lama visit, the Red Sox World Series and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing response.

"An overwhelming 63 percent of those warrant raids were conducted to search for drugs or arrest someone suspected of drug crimes," wrote Kade Crockford of the Massachusetts ACLU.

Continued...

[tod evans]

"Now" makes it sound like this is new, these idiots have been using SWAT to do drug raids for decades......

Nice of the ACLU to notice.....

[Ronin Truth]

Why not have them, at least, do SOMETHING? They're probably all getting paid by the hour.

[phill4paul]

Why not have them, at least, do SOMETHING? They're probably all getting paid by the hour.

Mow taxpayers' lawns?

[Ronin Truth]

Mow taxpayers' lawns?

Wash cars? Pick up trash?

[Dr.3D]

Noooo... they have to break down the door at 03:00 in the morning so they can arrest Joe Blow for having a joint.

[Ronin Truth]

Noooo... they have to break down the door at 03:00 in the morning so they can arrest Joe Blow for having a joint.

Realistically, how long does that all take, even with the wrong address and shooting the wrong dog(s)?

[Occam's Banana]

"What's the point of you saving this superb military for, Colin, if we can't use it?" - Madeleine Albright (Secretary of State) to Colin Powell (Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff)

As above, so below.

As abroad, so at home.

War on Them, War on Us ...

[Mani]

If you don't use it...You lose it...

Gotta keep those SWAT teams and bearcats in use so they look essential when budgets come up.

[presence]

SWAT raiding for drug offence is just another form of nickel ride; a way to "accidentally" inflict pain, injury, or humiliation on a suspect or their family prior to judgement.

Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase describing punishment that is considered unacceptable due to the suffering, pain, or humiliation it inflicts on the person subjected to it.

Its no wonder the term "roughing up the suspect" is cop slang for jerking off.