Ninjafication
Wired looks at the proliferation of military arms by police:
In Lebanon, Tennessee, a town of less than 30,000 people, Mike Justice, the public safety coordinator, was so eager to accumulate military goods that he used to wake up at 3:00 a.m. so he was the first person logged in at the government’s first-come, first-serve online store. Thanks to his sleepless nights, since 2007, Lebanon has collected $4 million worth of stuff, including tanks, weapons and heavy equipment like bulldozers and truck loaders. Lebanon’s tank, an LAV 150, has been used only “five or six times,” according to Justice. Although it did help save a man who tried to commit suicide, spotting him with the tank’s infrared camera.
June 28th, 2012 at 11:30 am
So we have local police who dress and arm themselves like an occupying army – then they are surprised when people are as happy to see them as Redcoats or Russian Paratroopers.
June 28th, 2012 at 11:33 am
Police are the standing army that the founders warned us about.
June 28th, 2012 at 11:47 am
I guess Lebanon still thinks it must protect the Cracker Barrel HQ from all those employees fired for being gay.
June 28th, 2012 at 12:27 pm
“… and heavy equipment like bulldozers and truck loaders.: Which have probably seen use, saving the town lots od trouble and expense. Ecen the weapons, as long as smaller than, oh, 20mm…
But yes, too many places are doing unecessary/dangerous/incompetent SWAT stuff.
June 28th, 2012 at 2:37 pm
The heavy equipment and machineguns thing is ludicrous for cops, generally speaking (though I suppose bulldozers and trucks might be used by local government at a savings, so meh).
The “other” military equipment might be okay – lots of good uses for night vision equipment by cops doing their proper job, decently.
June 28th, 2012 at 4:07 pm
So; infrared cameras are only available with tanks attached to them?