Our Militarized Society
 

I was thinking about the imposition of the "hammerhead" mindset while at a concert venue in Jersey a couple weekends back. Security looked like a mixed bag of ex-military, gym freaks, and college guys on break. It appeared pretty over the top but the camera drone flying around seemed to take it to the next level. They didn't "over-police" during the punk show which seemed to be an older crowd but during the sorta reggae event with the younger crowd they were pulling people out for drugs at a concert. I get the whole safety thing in our litigious society. The kids at the second concert looked for the most part like the sort of affluent suburbanites whose parents would break out the lawyers to defend their bubble wrapped world.

Then I started looking at images from St. Louis...
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_a...rotesters.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/polic...#ixzz3AD9HMciA (reuters photo)

Makes the European water cannon vans seem absolutely quaint.
Attachment 48849

Reminds me of that Field of Dreams line.

"If you build it, they will come."

I heard last night the demonstrators were meeting the escalating police presence with Molotov cocktails. This situation seems to be moving in the wrong direction. Escalating instead of deescalating.

Looks familiar. Birmingham 1963. So much for a post-racist society

Here's a collection of yesterday's images on Boing Boing.

Apparently there was a peaceful demonstration during the day, attended by religious leaders and covered by the media, and the police pulled out all their soldier gear to respond to that.
Attachment 48851
Sniper aiming at the unarmed peaceful crowd. Amazing.

And then the cops went on to arrest two journalists charging their equipment in a nearby McDonalds.

Later that night, after the cops escalated things at a peaceful protest by showing up in armored vehicles and pointing their guns at the unarmed crowd, the hooligans responded by throwing Molotov cocktails.

I can't figure out how to imbed this video, so here's a link to where it's hosted on Boing Boing.

A news crew in a very quiet neighborhood is set up on the sidewalk filming the cops a block away. They have lights and a camera on a tripod and a news van running with its headlights on.

The cops, without any warning, shoot a teargas canister right at tv reporters, driving them away and forcing them to abandon all their equipment. Then the cops come in and take down the tv lights and point the tv camera at the ground.

These cops are opening themselves up to serious litigation with their behavior. What they are doing is criminal.

Welcome to The New American Culture Of Fear™.

I saw those images on boingboing yesterday, it made me sick, angry, and sad. It also confirms what I've expounded on here several times, about police budget shortfalls being made up by the feds in the form of paramilitary training/equipment.

The police are one of building blocks of a civilized society. If you don't fund them, friend them, cooperate with them, and hold them accountable, then they will be working for someone else... and you won't like it.

NPR had a good interview with a Black minister who made a good point. While blacks are routinely treated badly by the police everyone should feel this.

I feel it. Am I comfortable during traffic stops? Absolutely not. We are heading toward a society where everyone is equal before the police, equally under suspicion, equally in danger of a smack down.

I know that feeling very well, but in the last few years I've changed my attitude. Years ago, working 2nd and 3rd shift, driving home at night, those roadblocks the local cops set up for drunks and seatbelt violations were scary. Those guys were really obnoxious, so if I wasn't old and white I would have taken extraordinary steps to avoid them.

Now I try to plan routes which are mostly out of state and when I get pulled over I remind myself it's only going to cost me money. I try to pull over where the cop is reasonably safe leaving the cruiser. I'm friendly rather than sullen, and have all my papers in order when he/she approaches the car. I don't argue or make excuses, just yeah, you got me. My percentage of 'just a warning' has skyrocketed... really.

In the OP photo, I'm amused by the tactical officers wearing bright, tan, desert boots ... an urban-camo fashion faux pas.

Meh. Looting and setting fire to things. That'll help.

It's a tradition.

Amazing how when the State Police took over from the local cops and showed up dressed like this:
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the reaction from the crowds was like this:
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Officer Friendly
He’s just a good guy with a gun


https://medium.com/the-nib/officer-f...y-28e8d9399bbb

Oh yes! Tom Tomorrow's Officer Friendly nails it, Spex. :thumb:

Oh man! I am loving that comic strip. I followed the link and haven't been able to break away for half an hour :P

Tom Tomorrow is a classic. One of those cartoonists who can plow away the bullshit and cut straight to the heart of the matter. Of course if one were of a conservative bent, one might not find it quite as entertaining. :haha:

Damn good news that some police can be professional.

They're gonna get laughed off the paintball course.

Really good Ross Douthat column in the NYT yesterday

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/17/op...e-suburbs.html

years ago, i was a ballistic breecher on my tac team for the drug task force. we only geared up for felony warrants where the suspect was likely armed. we rode in an old donated bread truck.

police are going way to far with these armored vehicles and other surplus equipment. the main thing is most of them don't have a clue to how to use it.

btw, i support the officer. he had this 300 lb kid pounding him and when he tried to take him into custody the guy charged him. fits totally within the accepted use of force continuum.

Yeah, the kid was big... don't let him take control, big. I'm sure the cop went from wary to scared to panic very quickly. It's a shame it ended like that, but I can think of a couple equally bad endings. From that point on it's like the contrived script from a Bollywood movie.

The witnesses said, boy=good, cop=bad. No surprise there. I can see them all wearing warn-a-brother shirts, locked arm in arm, high kicking in unison like the Rockettes. This is the reaction to years of cops covering up mistakes/misbehavior by cops, truth be damned. First allowing, then (probably as part of rationalizing to others & themselves) condoning, finally approving, cops bullying citizens.

I've seen it to many times. I can understand a cop thrown into a situation where things could go bad in a hurry, so he/she must be large and in charge quickly. No, we will not discuss it, you will do what I say. That said, I've seen some sadistic fuckers who have no business wearing a badge, abusing scared and bewildered people, for no discernible reason other than breaking the boredom, or perversion.

It's part of the polarization of America. Aiding the divide and conquer strategy to retain control of the minions, by the oligarchs. Strategy, is giving them too much credit, though. They do guide and nudge, but the path to division is human nature. There must be an Us and Them, otherwise I wouldn't know who to watch out for, and more importantly I wouldn't have anyone to blame when I fuck up. http://cellar.org/2014/whistling.gif

The autopsy would seem to suggest that the witnesses who say he had his arms up in surrender were right. The bullet wounds (all six of them) suggest that he had his hands raised into the air and was at some distance away when he was shot.

What a well written article. Made me want to cry.

I don't think either side's version has been vetted properly yet.

Maybe not a civilian/cop issue so much as a black/white issue

True dat

It could also be a nicely written work of fiction. Notice the lack of details as to location or identity of persons involved. Her only photograph is of a vacant sidewalk. No sign of street musicians, etc.

As far as the autopsy, the only released reporting is from the forensic pathologist hired by the family. His assistant was interviewed on CNN and admitted that they didn't know what wounds might have been caused in the car and the autopsy could not refute the officer's account.

supporting the officer is http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014...uson-shooting/

In use of force classes I taught for years, we played video tapes illustrating that a person with a knife at a distance of 26 feet could rush and stab an officer before he could draw his weapon. This is info is to illustrate the danger zone for officers.

We had an injured officer facing a man that seconds before had tried to take his gun. If the officer was in legitimate fear of his life (I would have been), he was justified in shooting to stop the threat of a charging much larger assailant.

Don't think Big Mike is such a sweet little lad. Minutes before he had committed a strong armed robbery where he had turned back as leaving the store and advanced again on that victim.

Two sides to a coin. What would you have done if he was charging you with intent to commit another felonious act??

True words. The cop who shot the kid may end up being the only innocent person in this whole mess... or not. Importantly, he events have finally shined a light on the direction policing is going in this country.

I see Egypt is criticizing our use of force. If Egypt is scoring on you you're running the wrong defense.

We know who wrote it, it's on her webpage, complete with her picture. She said los Angeles, does the street address make a difference?
I doubt she got the name of the street performer, and bet she didn't get the names of the hecklers. Would the name of the man make a difference? Gonna run him through R & I for his rap sheet to see if he ever sat on bench W?

C'mon, you were looking for ants with a magnifying glass, and missed the anthill. :rolleyes:

Pia Glenn is an actress and not a reporter. Her ex is Salman Rushdie says she is unstable.

A furious Rushdie told us yesterday, “The reason I broke up with Pia Glenn is that I came to feel that she’s an unstable person who carries around a large, radioactive bucket of stress wherever she goes. It was just exhausting to deal with.
“Her recent explosions . . . demonstrate that she is also an accomplished liar.
“It is hard even to list the untruths in her article. We never lived together — she lived at her father’s home in Freeport, LI. We never agreed to have children together. Our relationship lasted five and a half months, so it’s hard to see how I ‘stole a year’ of her life.
“What most distresses me, however, is her statement that I am still ‘obsessed’ with my ex-wife, Padma Lakshmi. When my marriage to Padma ended I was saddened and hurt, that’s true, but that was two and a half years ago, and, like any adult, I have accepted the world as it is.
“As any of my friends can attest, I long ago turned the page and moved on. It’s absurd of Ms. Glenn to say otherwise. I wish Padma nothing but the best, particularly now that she is expecting, and have written to her to congratulate her. End of story.”
To make matters worse, Rushdie said Glenn had besieged him with calls, forcing him to hang up. He said, “She is plainly confused, and desperate for attention. I’m sorry for her and I hope she gets well soon.”
Rushdie added in a statement: “She’s broke, unemployed . . . and obviously decided to sell me out.

Pia is also one of the famous panelists that made fun of Mitt Romney's grandson.

When the photo was put up, things started off light with Perry saying, “Everybody loves a baby picture, and this was one that really, a lot of people had emotions about this baby picture this year. This is the Romney family. And, of course, there on Governor Romney’s knee is his adopted grandson, who is an African-American, adopted African-American child, Kieran Romney.”
From there, the jokes came with panelist Pia Glenn singing, “One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just isn’t the same.” She joked after her song that “that little baby, front and center, would be the one.”
- See more at: http://madamenoire.com/336678/meliss....dg4HFNsz.dpuf

She really seems to lack credibility if you read some of tweets

Interesting piece in the Guardian:



http://www.theguardian.com/commentis...ce-punish-cops

The community oriented policing has not worked well. NYC is using the broken window system and is having more success. I do agree with all of you that the police are becoming far too militarized and causes long term problems.

A little update on the officer - he suffered an orbital blowout fracture to his eye socket.

So what? It's not breaking news, she wrote about one incident she observed/experienced, and the undercurrent of feelings by people who consider this a never ending story. I accept that you don't get it, and never will.
Your opinion of her is based on her ex badmouthing her? OMG :facepalm:

Sarge, I think a lot of people would agree that the actual incident is muddy, and maybe the cop was even right. Even if he wasn't, bad shootings happen all the time; it's unfortunate but not stunning. The *problem* is how Ferguson has handled the protests, turning them into riots when they didn't need to be.

I am a huge supporter of the "broken window" philosophy as well.

Considering that alternatives up 'til now haven't worked, what should the response have been? It's just a modern Boston Tea Party.

Here's an interesting piece -

In 2013, British police officers fired their weapons all of three times. No one died.

http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-08-1...ll-last-year-3

What's the "broken window" philosophy?

Looks like the Brits need more target practice.

I took this from wiki rather tediously typing a response from my text books:

The broken windows theory was first introduced by social scientists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling, in an article titled "Broken Windows" which appeared in the March 1982 edition of The Atlantic Monthly.[1] The title comes from the following example:

Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it's unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside.

Or consider a pavement. Some litter accumulates. Soon, more litter accumulates. Eventually, people even start leaving bags of refuse from take-out restaurants there or even break into cars.

Before the introduction of this theory by Wilson and Kelling, Philip Zimbardo, a Stanford psychologist, arranged an experiment testing the broken-window theory in 1969. Zimbardo arranged for an automobile with no license plates and the hood up to be parked idle in a Bronx neighbourhood and a second automobile in the same condition to be set up in Palo Alto, California. The car in the Bronx was attacked within minutes of its abandonment. Zimbardo noted that the first "vandals" to arrive were a family – a father, mother and a young son – who removed the radiator and battery. Within twenty four hours of its abandonment, everything of value had been stripped from the vehicle. After that, the car's windows were smashed in, parts torn, upholstery ripped, and children were using the car as a playground. At the same time, the vehicle sitting idle in Palo Alto, California sat untouched for more than a week. Then Zimbardo himself went up to the vehicle and deliberately smashed it with a sledgehammer. Soon after, people joined in for the destruction. Zimbardo observed that majority of the adult "vandals" in both cases were primarily well dressed, clean-cut and respectable whites. It is believed that in a neighborhood such as the Bronx where the history of abandoned property and theft are more prevalent, vandalism occurs much more quickly as the community generally seems apathetic. Similar events can occur in any civilized community when communal barriers – the sense of mutual regard and obligations of civility – are lowered by actions that suggests apathy.[1][page needed]

The article received a great deal of attention and was very widely cited. A 1996 criminology and urban sociology book, Fixing Broken Windows: Restoring Order and Reducing Crime in Our Communities by George L. Kelling and Catharine Coles, is based on the article but develops the argument in greater detail. It discusses the theory in relation to crime and strategies to contain or eliminate crime from urban neighborhoods.[2]

A successful strategy for preventing vandalism, say the book's authors, is to fix the problems when they are small. Repair the broken windows within a short time, say, a day or a week, and the tendency is that vandals are much less likely to break more windows or do further damage. Clean up the sidewalk every day, and the tendency is for litter not to accumulate (or for the rate of littering to be much less). Problems do not escalate and thus respectable residents do not flee a neighborhood.

Although work done by the police is crucial towards crime prevention, Oscar Newman, in his 1972 book, Defensible Space, explained that the presence of the police authority is just not enough for a safe and crime-free city. People in the community also need to lend a hand towards crime prevention. The theory that Newman proposes is that people will take care of and protect their own spaces they feel they have an investment in, arguing that an area will eventually be safer if the people feel a sense of ownership and responsibility towards the area. The reason why broken windows and acts of vandalism are still prevalent is because communities simply do not seem to care about the damage. Regardless of how many times the windows have been repaired, the society still has to invest some of their time to keep it safe. The negligence of society towards any form of a "broken window" signifies a lack of concern for the community. Newman states this as a clear sign that the society has accepted this disorder, allowing for the unrepaired broken windows to display the vulnerability and lack of defense against the situation.[3] Malcolm Gladwell also relates this theory to the reality of NYC in his book The Tipping Point.[4]

The theory thus makes two major claims: that further petty crime and low-level anti-social behavior will be deterred, and that major crime will be prevented as a result. Criticism of the theory has tended to focus only on the latter claim.

I'd heard of that "broken window" theory before, but it has nothing to do with policing. It's about a society keeping the neighborhood in good repair.

Is there some sort of "broken window" theory for policing?

yes, it means establishing a zero tolerance policy in the belief that by prosecuting people for minor crimes, it will deter them from committing major crimes in the future. it has shown success in many urban areas.

Here's a video prank that shows some people seem predisposed to prejudice

guys, i apologize for being so pig headed. some of you know my situation in Federal Court, 5th Circuit. I have to give a deposition in a little more than hour. i have transferred emotions

Do what you gotta do, Sarge. Good luck, see you after.

Sarge - no apologies necessary. Even without what you're going through - it is entirely natural for someone with your connections to the police to see this through that lens. You know what it is like to be in a position where the danger may come from anywhere and anyone and you have to react lightening fast.

Good luck with your deposition :)

Further to that point - I think this is one of the reasons very few British police support the idea of being routinely armed. If it becomes standard practice to carry a weapon - it's a short step for it to become standard practice to draw that weapon on approaching any potential situation - and that tends to lead to people being shot. That and the fact that if the police are routinely armed then it wuoldn;t be too long before the criminals were routinely armed. Right now, some are, but it's nowhere near as ubiquitous as it seems in the US.

Even so - even with only specialist response teams armed we still have fucks ups anc those fuck ups are usually black lads getting shot. Usually this is followed by an attempt to smear the reputation of the dead black boy (right down to operating surveillance on the grieving family and friends) and a closing of ranks - cue years of wrangling before any enquiry gets underway.

The riots a couple of years ago in the UK were sparked by the police shooting a black man who they thought was armed but who wasn't.

I think the broken window policy of policing is stupid doomed to failure.

First of all, it can never actually happen, that there'll be a zero tolerance approach to crimes. There will **always** be crime, large and small, and the hope that by enforcing criminal prosecution of every crime, no matter how small, will prevent crimes in the future is an unprovable fantasy.

Let me ask you, those of you who support such an approach, give me an example of another zero-tolerance policy that has succeeded in the prevention of transgressions? What about zero-tolerance for weapons or drugs in schools? What about abstinence only policies for sexual behavior? Mandatory minimum sentencing in our courts? What about "broken-window-policing" in any location, anywhere? Where has it worked?

It hasn't. Because there *are* crimes/drugs/weapons/sexing/whatever happening, the enforcement will, almost by definition be selective. THAT'S the problem. Which transgressors are selected, and the justification that "we have a zero-tolerance policy against that" gives a official fig leaf for the enforcers, and can be blithely ignored when that is more convenient. It is inevitable, inescapable that the rules will be enforced selectively.

Imagine if it were not; is it even desirable to have everyone who is driving over the speed limit by any amount stopped? How is that even possible? Where will we get enough cops and prosecutors and jailers? How can that be sustained? And who the fuck wants that?

The worst part is that I, and I believe most others in my community, want police officers who are thoughtful, who exercise good judgement, who can and will choose among the range of responses they have to the infinite situations they face in my neighborhood and not just reflexively, mechanically "following orders".

Bullseye. Exactly right.

Well, there was that one little future terrorist that nibbled his Pop-Tart into the vague shape of a pistol...he ain't killed nobody lately.

Must be working.

Sarge, I read this article and thought of you. It's a veteran itemizing the weapons, ammunition, and equipment used against the protesters in Ferguson.

http://www.thenation.com/article/181...olice-weaponry

Sorry, I mean Ferguson the police officers, not Ferguson the community. The community protested, the police response turned them into riots when they didn't need to be.

You misunderstand, "broken window" policing is nothing like a classic zero tolerance policy. I'll give you THE example: New York City.

For years, the NY subways were a sewer of crime. Muggings, murder, open air prostitution in front of other passengers--not just the soliciting of, but the actual sex. The police were run ragged trying to keep up with all the crimes being committed down there, and barely making a dent.

Then a new police chief came in, a follower of the "broken windows" philosophy. And what he said was, forget the murders and muggings. We're obviously not stopping them anyway. Instead, we now do two things, and only two things--we catch, arrest, and fine every single fare-jumper, and we get rid of all graffiti. The trains had turnaround tunnels at the end of every line, and they literally stationed dozens of painters inside those turnaround stations who would paint over new graffiti within minutes of it going on. Meanwhile other staff would climb inside and clean every marker tag the punks had drawn on in the last hour, fix every broken seat. Kids would break in to the train yards at night to draw these massive tagged murals on the trains, and they didn't even try to keep them out. They just hired overnight painters to stand there and follow behind them, painting over it right in front of them, before the spraypaint was even dry. For the fare-jumping (and keep in mind, at this point approximately 70% of riders were fare-jumping,) they placed officers at every single turnstile, and handcuffed each one they caught together in a line, and made them stand there publicly until they had about 20. Then they marched them up to the street where a roving "police station" bus would come by and process each arrest and issue a fine within an hour.

And what happened next is exactly what the "broken windows" philosophy said would happen: with the environment changed, the fundamental social attitude of the people riding the trains changed. Muggings and murders plummeted. Normal people have the capacity to turn into thugs when placed in an environment where they feel everything is permitted, but normal people also have the capacity to hold themselves to a higher standard when the environment declares that this is not a place of chaos.

It worked so well that the police chief in question was brought in to be a consultant for the city as a whole when Giuliani was elected, and they did the same thing there: quit chasing endless murders. Instead, get the hookers off the streets, get the aggressive panhandlers out of Time Square, get the graffiti down everywhere. And again, major crimes plummeted all on their own, once these minor crimes were aggressively targeted. And not "aggressively" in terms of punishment, but in terms of swiftness and guarantee of getting caught. Studies have shown that the average person will not even risk a $5 fine if they are certain to be caught, but they will risk a $5000 fine if the chances are less than 50% that they'll get caught.

Why yes, I did just finish Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point," which details the NY crime story in great detail and also goes into several other examples of broken windows theory being applied with great success, why do you ask? :)

Sorry, this stuff excites me.

Using "broken window" policies in schools, for example, would mean putting kids in uniforms; taking two minutes at the end of every single class period to check for gum under the desks, and making the student sitting at that desk clean it off right then and there; and again, getting the graffiti off the walls every single night.

Do that, and the weapons and gang activity and drug dealing go down all on their own. It's counter-intuitive, but it's been shown to work.

Thanks for that explanation. It sounds very smart, and I support it too.

Yes, Clodfobble, thank you for your explanation. I would revise my remarks based on what I've read. I stand by my point that zero-tolerance policies are approximately equal to zero-intelligence/zero-hope-for-success-policies. But as you point out, "broken windows policing" IS NOT the same as zero-tolerance for crimes, even a subset of crimes. Respectfully, Big Sarge was wrong to explain it that way.

Not that he's alone; many people, many police agencies have interpreted "broken windows policing" in the same wrong way (and they're just as hosed for so doing).
The link leads to a short section that describes the evidence of the effects of broken windows policing, which is mixed. The goal of such a policy is to reduce social disorder, and a reduction in crime as one of the side effects.

Long story short: there is no consensus as to the effectiveness of such a policy. In my opinion, broken windows policing is like a specialized tooth, say, a canine, in the effort to take a bite out of crime; good for what it does, grab and hold. A mouthful of only canines though, or broken window policers is effective in a limited range of situations. Much better to have a varied set of teeth, multiple approaches to cut, tear, and grind up the criminal element. This link describes what's working and what's not in my own city's police department.

The police incident probably wouldn't have happened if that Ferguson neighborhood had a community watch.

Maybe they could get George Zimmerman to organize one.

I just read a book(!), Zero History by William Gibson, the cross-over of military clothing to street fashion was one of it's main plot devices.

Hey guys, there is more than one form of broken window. As you surmise, I used the pattern I described. This was based upon my tenure of a vice/narcotics task force. Over my years I saw the transition in my area from Chicago based gangs to Meth heads with ties to Mexican Cartels through McAllen, TX. My articles were regularly published in the DEA Quarterly Intelligence Bulletin, MS Association of Drug Enforcement Officers, and Police magazine. I was one of the major "preachers". I did this after working as a DARE and GREAT officer in the schools. In addition. I was writing grants for universal hire under the COPS (Community Oriented Policing) program funded by DOJ. Essentially, I chose what worked best for communities that were besieged with street level narcotics dealers and resulting in related crime to drug abuse. If you do a search for me under TOP Cops, you will see the award I received. Also, you can pull up articles I published in Police magazine. Warning, you will probably see other things to include a major First Amendment case and others. I have stated here before, I wasn't that nice of a person for quite awhile. I guess I should mention I am currently involved with a use of force case in the 5th Circuit.

As far as the equipment being used in Ferguson, the vehicles and weapons are not from the Defense Re-utilization Program. The only items I saw that were likely from the military are the knee/elbow pads, kevlar helmets, and uniforms. I saw none of the MRAPs or HMMWVs that have been the point of contention. The weapons, vehicles, LRAD, radios, and chemical munitions would have come from grants under the Dept of Homeland Security. I know because I have written grants through both. Don't listen to the crap about tanks from the media. They are not available to law enforcement agencies.

But did you ever wear your rank on your elbow?

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Nope, I had mine tattooed on my butt a long time ago. It is kind of droopy, but I'll post a pic if you want, but it is a few years old. I am grayer now.

Soooo....does the 'incorrect' version of 'no broken window' policy explain the preponderance of stop and frisk (and pull-overs) on people of color?

Or is it just another way to fill prisons?

stop and frisk based upon Terry vs. Ohio is a great tool. Since NYPD has been forced to curtail their practice, there has been a rise in gun violence. Another fantastic tool is RICCO. I can get you convicted based upon association rather than overt criminal act.

:facepalm: