How Military Culture Turned America Into the land of SWAT

[Makalakumu]

http://www.salon.com/2013/07/07/“wh...a_book_the_new_warrior_cop_is_out_of_control/

Sal Culosi is dead because he bet on a football game — but it wasn’t a bookie or a loan shark who killed him. His local government killed him, ostensibly to protect him from his gambling habit.
Several months earlier at a local bar, Fairfax County, Virginia, detective David Baucum overheard the thirty-eight-year-old optometrist and some friends wagering on a college football game. “To Sal, betting a few bills on the Redskins was a stress reliever, done among friends,” a friend of Culosi’s told me shortly after his death. “None of us single, successful professionals ever thought that betting fifty bucks or so on the Virginia–Virginia Tech football game was a crime worthy of investigation.” Baucum apparently did. After overhearing the men wagering, Baucum befriended Culosi as a cover to begin investigating him. During the next several months, he talked Culosi into raising the stakes of what Culosi thought were just more fun wagers between friends to make watching sports more interesting. Eventually Culosi and Baucum bet more than $2,000 in a single day. Under Virginia law, that was enough for police to charge Culosi with running a gambling operation. And that’s when they brought in the SWAT team.
On the night of January 24, 2006, Baucum called Culosi and arranged a time to drop by to collect his winnings. When Culosi, barefoot and clad in a T-shirt and jeans, stepped out of his house to meet the man he thought was a friend, the SWAT team began to move in. Seconds later, Det. Deval Bullock, who had been on duty since 4:00 AM and hadn’t slept in seventeen hours, fired a bullet that pierced Culosi’s heart.
Sal Culosi’s last words were to Baucum, the cop he thought was a friend: “Dude, what are you doing?”

When the police are militarized, the government collects the ultimate dossier on everyone, and violence is used increasingly to solve all problems, you live in an unfree country. Of course Libertarians have been explaining that this would happen for years. The more our culture worships the Imperial military industrial complex, the more it's violence will be used against us. For those of you who think that voting for big government in the form of "defense" is a good thing, well here is the unintended consequence that always follows in the wake of big government.

 

[jks9199]

And the Fairfax County Police Department handled this incident very openly. Report to the Community

I'll have more to say on this in a bit, when I have some time. I actually do agree that there has been an over-militarization (for lack of a better term) of the police of late. It ain't all our fault, though... I'll be glad to leave my body armor and sidearm home, if you can guarantee the bad guys will do the same.

 

[Makalakumu]

And the Fairfax County Police Department handled this incident very openly. Report to the Community

I'll have more to say on this in a bit, when I have some time. I actually do agree that there has been an over-militarization (for lack of a better term) of the police of late. It ain't all our fault, though... I'll be glad to leave my body armor and sidearm home, if you can guarantee the bad guys will do the same.

This is fair and would be a good thing. However, how much federal money is coming in to make this kind of environment possible?

 

[K-man]

This is fair and would be a good thing. However, how much federal money is coming in to make this kind of environment possible?

If this is even 10% true you have big problems with your system of policing.

http://www.salon.com/2012/09/28/nine_terrifying_facts_about_americas_biggest_police_force/

:asian:

 

[Makalakumu]

If this is even 10% true you have big problems with your system of policing.

http://www.salon.com/2012/09/28/nine_terrifying_facts_about_americas_biggest_police_force/

:asian:

Do you have anything like this in Oz? When I have travelled and explained what happens here in America, most people are simply shocked.

 

[Tgace]

My PD has as much in common with the NYPD as K-Mans police will....

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[Tgace]

This is fair and would be a good thing. However, how much federal money is coming in to make this kind of environment possible?

I run my Dept. SWAT team...I had a whopping 6K of grant money to spend this year...I purchased one night vision device for our sniper rifles...

Because for all the uneducated opinions on tactical teams, if our snipers cant make a shot in the night and someone gets killed people will be critical that in this high tech age that we didn't have the capability.

If I'm lucky I will get the same next year...I had nothing the year before...Id like to get a throwable robot. That way the next time we have a barricaded gunman we can toss a robot with a camera vs a person who may have to kill or be killed.

Our vests are due to expire this year too....don't quite know where I'm going to find the money to replace those.

Of course some people would say that the cop getting killed is something we should prefer over us having NVGs or robots or body armor...of course they will never be in the position of ordering a man to his death....



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[Tgace]

Gear and equipment isn't "militarization".....application is. Cops in the 30's/40's had Tommy guns and armored cars...

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[arnisador]

Our vests are due to expire this year too....don't quite know where I'm going to find the money to replace those.

I think it's less about a SWAT team having the right equipment--of course it should--and more about the ever-increasing use of Special Weapons and Tactics. They're less special when they become standard procedure for relatively minor arrests.

 

[Makalakumu]

I think it's less about a SWAT team having the right equipment--of course it should--and more about the ever-increasing use of Special Weapons and Tactics. They're less special when they become standard procedure for relatively minor arrests.

That's really the issue. It seems like "shock and awe" is becoming the norm. Overwhelming force for everything without regard for circumstance.

 

[K-man]

Do you have anything like this in Oz? When I have travelled and explained what happens here in America, most people are simply shocked.

Nothing like you have. In Australia we have State Police forces with their separate chain of command, all responsible to the State Governments. Any evidence of corruption or inappropriate behaviour and there can be an external investigation. We also have much lower ratios of police to population than you have.

Another interesting thing I saw on TV the other day was an Australian who married an American lady and joined the police force, I think in California. He was only being paid $30k. He had to work a second job in security to make ends meet. That doesn't seem a great set up for a professional police force. :asian:

 

[Carol]

Nothing like you have. In Australia we have State Police forces with their separate chain of command, all responsible to the State Governments. Any evidence of corruption or inappropriate behaviour and there can be an external investigation. We also have much lower ratios of police to population than you have.

Another interesting thing I saw on TV the other day was an Australian who married an American lady and joined the police force, I think in California. He was only being paid $30k. He had to work a second job in security to make ends meet. That doesn't seem a great set up for a professional police force. :asian:

Sounds like there is some important data missing from the TV scenario. Starting pay for an officer where I live in NH is over 50k, and our cost of living is nothing like California's. Some police officers (like some college professors) are among the highest paid public employees in the state (in general - not just here)


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[arnisador]

Some police officers (like some college professors) are among the highest paid public employees in the state (in general - not just here)

In many places a police officer can double his salary with enough overtime. Of course, that's a lot of hours--but often at time-and-a-half.

 

[Tgace]

In many places a police officer can double his salary with enough overtime. Of course, that's a lot of hours--but often at time-and-a-half.

On the job OT is primarily court OT...which means you have to make arrests to get it. I used to do off duty security gigs to make some extra cash....

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[Tgace]

That's really the issue. It seems like "shock and awe" is becoming the norm. Overwhelming force for everything without regard for circumstance.

A lot of things "seem like the norm" in the Internet age....

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[Makalakumu]

A lot of things "seem like the norm" in the Internet age....

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And then some things shouldn't occur at all, IMO. SWAT teams for poker games at the VFW? Sheesh. Talk about spitting on those who "fight for freedom"! Hippies ain't got nothing on that.

 

[Tgace]

And then some things shouldn't occur at all, IMO. SWAT teams for poker games at the VFW? Sheesh. Talk about spitting on those who "fight for freedom"! Hippies ain't got nothing on that.

That is true...there have been some questionable decisions made....did you read the report supplied by Jks though? The rationale is at least plausible in this case.

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[Tgace]

Sounds like there is some important data missing from the TV scenario. Starting pay for an officer where I live in NH is over 50k, and our cost of living is nothing like California's. Some police officers (like some college professors) are among the highest paid public employees in the state (in general - not just here)


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That really depends on agency and location...in some smaller PD's 30K would be pretty good. My starting pay was around 38. Not sure what the rookies make now....

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[jks9199]

Sounds like there is some important data missing from the TV scenario. Starting pay for an officer where I live in NH is over 50k, and our cost of living is nothing like California's. Some police officers (like some college professors) are among the highest paid public employees in the state (in general - not just here)


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Depends on very many factors -- but lots of places in the US don't pay their cops particularly well. Virginia State Police start at $36207. Roanoke City PD starts at $35445. While there are plenty of places that pay police well, there are also plenty where cops work two jobs or spend a lot of time working details and OT assignments.

 

[jks9199]

And the Fairfax County Police Department handled this incident very openly. Report to the Community

I'll have more to say on this in a bit, when I have some time. I actually do agree that there has been an over-militarization (for lack of a better term) of the police of late. It ain't all our fault, though... I'll be glad to leave my body armor and sidearm home, if you can guarantee the bad guys will do the same.

OK... I promised more. Here it is...

Lots of people are complaining about "militarization" of the police, and they point to incidents like this one and tactical teams in general, patrol rifles, semiautomatic sidearms, body armor (especially external vest carriers) to support their complaints. Let's take them in turn: Tac teams. Tactical units were a response to rising violence and situations that ordinary patrol units weren't prepared for. Especially early on, they did rely a lot on military equipment and tactics. However, a modern tac team uses gear and equipment more aimed at the police market than the military market -- and many of their tactics are quite different from the military. There has been and continues to be some overlap, especially in urban combat scenarios. But there are key differences: cops hit resistance, they can't pull out for air/artillery support. Cops have to be much more concerned with innocents in the crossfire than a soldier in a war zone. A tactical unit is used when there is reason to anticipate violence, or weapons. Some other units use tac team tactics in lower risk situations because of the targets, like a gang unit.

Patrol rifles are also a response to what's happening on the street. We've learned that sidearms are not enough in some cases (North Hollywood bank robbery, active shooters) and that we can't always hold the scene and wait for SWAT to show up. The answer is to provide a patrol officer with sufficient firepower to respond to the threat with a reasonable expectation that they will succeed, rather than simply be cannon fodder. The semiauto sidearm is pretty much the same thing: a 6 gun just wasn't turning out to be adequate.

Body armor... It's hot, it's uncomfortable -- but I am almost never in uniform without wearing it. If you're a welder, you wear eye protection. If you're working on a construction site, you wear a hard hat and steel toe boots. For a cop, we face the risk of people shooting at us. The answer to that, to give us the best chances of going home healthy at the end of our shift, is to wear body armor. I happen to prefer, for myself, an under-the-uniform or "covert" carrier for my armor, but lots of agencies have added the option of an external vest carrier. Some officers find them more comfortable, or that it's easier to be able to take them off in the station and cool off for a bit. (It's not uncommon for me to be able to wring my shirt out after a shift in the summer...) But sometimes, the public sees an external vest and assumes that they're seeing some sort of tactical or special response team (like a street crimes unit), when it's just a patrol officer with an external vest carrier. (Incidentally, I don't prefer them because they don't seem to make a huge difference in comfort, too often they don't get laundered enough, and they ride up when you're sitting. Oh -- and there's the possibility that I might have to run out and forget to grab it...)

Where I have a problem with the "militarization" in police work is when the police unthinkingly adopt or try to adopt military tactics or equipment without examining the difference in the application. Approaches that work well for a soldier with a squad of 8 or more operating in a combat environment aren't necessarily right for a cop, often with maybe one partner, operating in a predominantly civilian environment, where most of the people we encounter are NOT criminals. And that's the other problem... It's very easy for othering and separation from the public at large to occur, since so often we're dealing with people who lie, steal, and are generally not nice. (By the way... the public feeds that, too, when they use cops as threats to their kids to eat their veggies, or try to fib their way out of a ticket. You know you were speeding or whatever... don't lie.) I see too many cops who don't get out of their cruiser except to respond to a call, write a ticket, or get some lunch. They drive around with the windows up, and even act annoyed if someone talks to them... then they wonder why someone treats them like they're strangers and some form of occupying army, rather than the folks who serve and protect.