Militarization of police

SWAT team members, some armed with assault rifles, prepare for an exercise.
A large group of Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers in tactical gear at a Lakers parade in 2009

Militarization of police involves the use of military equipment and tactics by law enforcement officers. This includes the use of armored personnel carriers, assault rifles, submachine guns, flashbang grenades,[1][2] grenade launchers,[3] sniper rifles, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams,[4][5] intelligence agency-style information gathering aimed at the public and political activists,[6][7] and a more aggressive style of law enforcement.[8][9][10] Criminal justice professor Peter Kraska has defined militarization of law enforcement as "the process whereby civilian police increasingly draw from, and pattern themselves around, the tenets of militarism and the military model."[11]

Observers have noted the militarizing of the policing of protests.[12][13] Since the 1970s, riot police have fired at protesters using guns with rubber bullets or plastic bullets.[14] Tear gas, which was developed for riot control in 1919, is widely used against protesters in the 2000s. The use of tear gas in warfare is prohibited by various international treaties[15] that most states have signed; however, its law enforcement or military use for domestic or non-combat situations is permitted.

Concerns about the militarization of police have been raised by both ends of the political spectrum in the United States, with both the right-of-center/libertarian Cato Institute and the left-of-center American Civil Liberties Union voicing criticisms of the practice. The Fraternal Order of Police has spoken out in favor of equipping law enforcement officers with military equipment, on the grounds that it increases the officers' safety and enables them to protect civilians.

Canada

A Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer in tactical gear

Canadian legal expert Michael Spratt wrote, "... there’s no question that Canadian police sometimes look more like post-apocalyptic military mercenaries than protectors of the peace. Our police services have been acquiring more and more military toys — a dangerous trend that’s gotten little in the way of critical analysis in the mainstream media."[16]

Growing numbers of Canadian police agencies have acquired armored vehicles in recent years.[17] In 2010 the Ottawa Police Service bought a Lenco G3 BearCat armored personnel carrier for $340,000, which has "half-inch-thick military steel armoured bodywork, .50 caliber-rated ballistic glass, blast-resistant floors, custom-designed gun ports and... a roof turret."[18]

The G20 protests in Toronto in 2010 showed that the militarization of protest policing is not only occurring in the United States. Police used a sound cannon, or Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) -- a weapon that was developed for use in conflicts in the Middle East, as well as barricades, pre-emptive arrests and riot units.[19]

The Lenco BearCat Armored Personnel Carrier

According to Kevin Walby, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Winnipeg, "the more interesting aspect of the militarization of the police is actually on the strategy side"; police are "increasingly training with military-style tacticians, especially when it comes to situations like crowd control and, increasingly, surveillance."[20]

In June 3, 2015 it was reported that "RCMP officers have started openly carrying [MP5] submachine guns on Parliament Hill as part of a visible increase to Parliament Hill security following last October’s terrorist attack" in 2014.[21] Conservative senator Vern White, a former RCMP officer and a former Ottawa police chief states that "...some RCMP officers guarding Parliament Hill against potential terrorist attacks should be armed with rifles similar to those carried by Canadian troops in Afghanistan [,]" the "...more powerful Colt C8 [which is] popular with police tactical teams and Canadian and other NATO alliance troops." White argues that the C8 carbines would give officers a much longer shooting range than the short-barreled MP5 submachine guns. "The RCMP is issuing more than 2,200 C8 carbines to its officers [,]" but the RCMP has not indicated whether the C8s will be issued to Parliament Hill officers.[22]

Brazil

In 2013 "...Brazil saw countrywide demonstrations protesting a lack of basic services while the country was spending billions on the World Cup and the Olympics. The unprepared and overreacting police forces responded in a way that shocked the largely middle-class protesters. The police, using "non-lethal" weapons like pepper spray and rubber bullets while dressed from head to toe in ninja-like full battle gear, indiscriminately arrested both violent "black bloc" demonstrators, known for their confrontational tactics and anarchist views, along with non-violent protestors marching peacefully." As a result, "...calls for de-militarization of the police—from social movements, non-governmental organizations, and even segments of the police itself—became widespread and remain one of the legacies of the World Cup." The Brazilian "...Military Police today, while not officially a wing of the Armed Forces, remains an institution with a strict military hierarchy, training that retains a military ideology, and practices that frequently resemble occupying forces conquering enemy territories."[23]

Colombia

"Since 1999, an eight-billion-dollar programme in Colombia has seen "the mass deployment of military troops and militarized police forces to both interdict illegal drugs and counter left-wing guerrilla groups". This assistance "promote[s] militarization to address organized crime".[24] Due to these U.S. policies, "civilian forces... have increasingly received military training, leading to concerns over human rights violations and excessive use of force, as well as a lack of knowledge over how to deal with local protests – concerns startlingly similar to those now coming out of Ferguson, Missouri."[24]

Mexico

Mexico's new national police force, the Gendarmería, is partially staffed with active duty soldiers, part of a longstanding trend towards militarization of the country's Federal Police.[25] Police officers have been implicated in the disappearances of 43 students in Guerrero in 2014.[26]

Indonesia

Indonesian militarized police are often deployed to mass gatherings, especially in areas with ethnic conflict, such as Papua.[27]

United States of America

History

1800s

Following the Reconstruction Era (1865–1877) in the aftermath of the American Civil War (1861–1865), Congress passed the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, in response to the allegation of civil liberties abuse under military occupation of the former Confederate States by members of the U.S. military during Reconstruction. The law prohibited the use of the United States Army (and later as amended in 1956, the United States Air Force) when used for domestic law enforcement except when authorized by the President under certain circumstances; similar limitation also applies to the United States Marine Corps and the United States Navy by Pentagon policy. The Act does not apply to the National Guard and state defense forces while under the authority of their respective state governors nor the U.S. Coast Guard, which is both an armed service and a maritime law enforcement agency and is not under authority of the Department of Defense (which was formed out of the Department of War in 1947).[28][29][30] After the law was passed, it allowed state and local authorities to regain control of their affairs, with their police departments typically equipped with handguns, shotguns, and batons, which were suitable for law enforcement purposes.

Paul Muni's depiction of gangster Al Capone armed with a Thompson submachine gun in the 1932 film Scarface. Changes in popular culture, such as an increased focus on heavily armed gangsters in news, film, literature and urban legend, have contributed to police militarization.

1900s

However, throughout the 20th century, the United States has faced large and heavily armed criminal organizations, in which law enforcement officers were clearly outperformed. In the 1920s during the Prohibition Era and in the early 1930s during the Great Depression, criminal syndicates and individual bank robbers such as John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde were frequently armed with Thompson submachine guns and Browning Automatic Rifles.[31] The FBI, as well as police departments in cities such as Kansas City, Missouri[32] and Kenosha, Wisconsin,[33] began deploying automatic weapons, including the Thompson submachine gun, and armored cars in the 1920s and 1930s.

During the late 1920s through the early 1930s, gunmen from criminal gangs in the United States began wearing bulletproof vests made from thick layers of cotton padding and cloth. These early vests could absorb the impact of handgun rounds such as .22 Long Rifle, .25 ACP, .32 S&W Long, .32 S&W, .380 ACP, .38 Special and .45 ACP traveling at speeds of up to 300 m/s (980 ft/s). To overcome these vests, law enforcement agents such as the FBI began using the newer and more powerful .38 Super, and later the .357 Magnum cartridge.

"Experts say there is a long history of militarization of the police, dating back to race riots that broke out in a handful of U.S. cities in the 1950s and 1960s. Some believe that the seeming success of SWAT teams deployed to curtail the 1965 Watts Riots -- a six-day race riot sparked by conflicts with the Los Angeles police that resulted in 34 deaths -- gave way to the trend of arming and equipping police forces with battlefield weapons."[34]

Throughout the 1960s to 1990s, encounters with the sophisticated weapons of narcotics trafficking groups such as the Medellín Cartel and street gangs such as the Gangster Disciples, with organized, violent left-wing protesters at such events as the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and the 1999 WTO Conference in Seattle,[35] with urban riots such as the 1965 Watts riots in Los Angeles and the 1967 Detroit Riot in Detroit led police forces to reconsider their standard side arms. As well, police experience with arsonists such as Earth Liberation Front (ELF),[36][37] with mass shootings and/or shootouts such as the 1984 McDonald's massacre in San Ysidro and the 1986 shootout between eight FBI agents and two serial bank robbers in Miami (in which the agents were out-gunned by the robbers) and with explosive devices used by the Weather Underground, Timothy McVeigh, and Ted Kaczynski (the "Unabomber"), highlighted the inadequacy of many law enforcement agencies' weapons and tactics.

Researchers David N. Falcone, Edward L. Wells, and Ralph A. Weisheit describe a historical separation of police models between small towns and larger cities, which tended to function differently with separate hierarchical systems supporting each.[38] The militarization of both rural and urban law enforcement has been attributed to the United States' involvement in wars during the 20th century, and to increasingly frequent encounters with violent protesters and criminals with automatic weapons, explosives, and body armor, although some attribute the militarization to the more recent campaigns known as the War on Drugs and the War on Terror.[39][40] Historian Charles A. Beard argues that cultural change during the Great Depression encouraged the militarization of law enforcement,[41] whereas Harwood argues that the creation of SWAT teams and tactical units within law enforcement during the 1960s began such trend.

Homeland Security armored vehicle

The 1981 Military Cooperation with Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies Act is a United States federal law that allows the U.S. military to cooperate with its civilian law enforcement agencies. Operations in support of law enforcement include assistance in counter-drug operations, assistance for civil disturbances, special security operations, counter-terrorism, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), and similar activities. Constitutional and statutory restrictions and corresponding directives and regulations limit the type of support provided in this area. This allows the U.S. military to give civilian law enforcement agencies access to its military bases and its military equipment.[42] The legislation was promoted during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan in the context of the War on drugs, and is considered a part of a general trend towards the militarization of police.[42] The Act is cited in the 1992 essay The Origins of the American Military Coup of 2012 as having set a precedent that the author, a United States Air Force officer, considered dangerous.

The 1997 North Hollywood shootout had a profound effect on law enforcement agencies. Local patrol officers at the time were typically armed with their standard issue 9×19mm or .38 Special pistols, with some having a 12-gauge shotgun available in their cars. The North Hollywood bank robbers carried fully automatic AK-47-style weapons with high capacity drum magazines and ammunition capable of penetrating vehicles and police Kevlar vests. With these weapons, two bank robbers fired approximately 1,100 rounds at police before being killed. The robbers wore body armor which successfully protected them from bullets and shotgun pellets fired by the responding patrolmen. Police noted that the service pistols carried by the first responding officers had insufficient range and relatively poor accuracy, although a SWAT team eventually arrived with sufficient firepower. The ineffectiveness of the standard police patrol pistols and shotguns in penetrating the robbers' body armor led to a trend in the United States toward arming selected police officers, not just SWAT teams, with heavier firepower such as semi-automatic 5.56×45mm NATO AR-15 type rifles. SWAT teams, whose close quarters battle weaponry usually consisted of submachine guns that fired pistol cartridges such as the Heckler & Koch MP5, began supplementing them with AR-15 type assault rifles and carbines.

Riot police at 2009 G20 meeting in Pittsburgh

Seven months after the incident, the Department of Defense gave 600 surplus M16s to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), which were issued to each patrol sergeant;[43][44] LAPD patrol vehicles now carry AR-15s as standard issue, with bullet-resistant Kevlar plating in their doors as well.[45] As a result of this incident, the LAPD authorized its officers to carry .45 ACP caliber semiautomatic pistols as duty sidearms, specifically the Smith & Wesson Models 4506 and 4566. Prior to 1997, only LAPD SWAT officers were authorized to carry .45 ACP caliber pistols, specifically the Model 1911A1 .45 ACP semiautomatic pistol.[46]

A U.S. police officer armed with a telescopic sight-equipped M4 carbine rifle during a training exercise

The 1033 program was created by the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 1997 as part of the U.S. Government's Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services (DLA) to transfer excess military equipment to law enforcement agencies.[47] As of 2014, 8,000 local law enforcement agencies participate in the reutilization program that has transferred $5.1 billion in military hardware from the Department of Defense to local American law enforcement agencies since 1997. Police departments have obtained surplus aircraft, bayonets, tactical armored vehicles, weapons, including grenade launchers, and watercraft.

2000s

Under the Fourth Amendment, law enforcement officers must receive written permission from a court of law, or otherwise qualified magistrate, to lawfully search and seize evidence while investigating criminal activity. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the 2001 Patriot Act gave law enforcement officers permission to search a home or business without the owner's or the occupant's consent or knowledge, amongst other provisions, if terrorist activities were suspected. The Act was criticized for its perceived violation of civil liberties and has generated a great deal of controversy since its enactment. In United States v. Antoine Jones, the court found that increased monitoring of suspects caused by the Patriot Act directly put the suspects' constitutional rights in jeopardy. For a time, the Act allowed for agents to undertake "sneak and peek" searches. Critics such as the ACLU strongly criticized the law for violating the Fourth Amendment.[48][49]

On May 18, 2015, President Barack Obama announced limits on the types of military equipment which can be transferred to police departments and the implementation of training programs to assure the appropriate use of other items. The military can no longer transfer some weapons, such as grenade launchers, weaponized vehicles, and bayonets to police.[50] Obama stated that "We’ve seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people a feeling like it’s an occupying force as opposed to a force that’s part of the community that’s protecting them and serving them,...So we’re going to prohibit equipment made for the battlefield that is not appropriate for local police departments."[51]

In response to Obama's announcement, the "nation’s largest police union is fighting back against a White House plan to restrict local police forces’ ability to acquire military-style gear, accusing ... Obama’s task force of politicizing officers’ safety."[51] The executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, James Pasco, stated that his group "...will be at our most aggressive in asserting the need for officer safety and officer rights in any police changes that are to be effected"; "he objects to a measure that would require police departments to get permission from city governments to acquire certain equipment, including riot batons, helmets and shields, through federal programs."[51] Pasco stated "We need to only look back to Baltimore [the location of the 2015 protests following the death of Freddie Gray] to see what happens when officers are sent out ill-equipped in a disturbance situation...[;] Because you don’t like the optics [of militarization], you can’t send police officers out to be hurt or killed."[51]

Allegations of "war on police"

Some prominent Americans have argued that police militarization is required to respond to an alleged "war on police" that exists in the US: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick stated "There’s A War On Cops", New York Police Chief Bratton warned of a "war on cops" and similar statements have been made by Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Scott Walker.[52] Radley Balko calls these claims "fact-free fearmongering"; he states that "...2015 is on pace to see 35 felonious killings of police officers. If that pace holds, this year would end with the second lowest number of murdered cops in decades."[52]

Notable incidents

The Mount Carmel Center engulfed in flames during the siege of the Branch Davidian community in Waco, Texas on April 19, 1993
Ruby Ridge

In 1992, there was a deadly confrontation and a 12-day siege at Ruby Ridge in northern Idaho between Randy Weaver, his family and his friend Kevin Harris, and agents of the United States Marshals Service (USMS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). USMS and FBI agents were armed with M16s and sniper rifles, and they used an armored personnel carrier. It resulted in the deaths of two suspects, including Weaver's son Sammy and his wife Vicki, and Deputy U.S. Marshal William Francis Degan. At the subsequent federal criminal trial of Weaver and Harris, Weaver's attorney Gerry Spence made accusations of "criminal wrongdoing" against every agency involved in the incident: the FBI, USMS, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), and the United States Attorney's Office (USAO) for Idaho. At the completion of the trial, the Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility formed a Ruby Ridge Task Force to investigate Spence's charges. The 1994 Task Force report was released in redacted form by Lexis Counsel Connect and raised questions about the conduct and policy of all the agencies. Public outcry over Ruby Ridge led to the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Government Information holding 14 days of hearings and issuing a report calling for reforms in federal law enforcement to prevent a repeat of Ruby Ridge and to restore public confidence in federal law enforcement.

Branch Davidian siege

In 1993, FBI and BATFE agents reportedly used armored vehicles and tanks and fired from helicopters during the siege of the Branch Davidian community in Waco, Texas.[53] The FBI's arms included .50 caliber (12.7 mm) rifles and M728 Combat Engineer Vehicles, which are based on an M60A1 Patton main battle tank chassis.[54] The FBI also launched 40-millimetre (1.6 in) CS grenade fire from M79 grenade launchers and fired two military M651 rounds at the Branch Davidian site. 40mm munitions recovered by the Texas Rangers at Waco included dozens of plastic Ferret Model SGA-400 Liquid CS rounds, two metal M651 military pyrotechnic tear gas rounds, two metal NICO Pyrotechnik Sound & Flash grenades, and parachute illumination flares.[55] The Army Tech Manual for the M651 warns that it can penetrate 3/4" plywood at 200 meters and the "projectile may explode upon target impact."

Other events

In 2005, the Maryland State Police began entering the names and personal information of death penalty opponents and anti-war protesters into a database used to track terrorists.[56]

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005, employees of the private security firm Blackwater patrolled the city with automatic weapons. "When asked what authority they were operating under," journalist Jeremy Scahill reported, "one guy said, 'We're on contract with the Department of Homeland Security.'" Local news station WDSU mentioned reports of police officers claiming to have summarily executed looters.[57]

On August 25, 2008, riot-equipped police in Denver, Colorado were accused of making mass, indiscriminate arrests of almost 100 protesters at the Democratic National Convention. In 2011, Denver agreed to pay a $200,000 settlement and to improve its crowd control training and policies.[58]

In February 2010, the Minneapolis Police Department raided the apartment of Rickia Russell, breaching the door and throwing in a flashbang grenade, as part of a search for drugs. At the time, Russell was eating dinner with her boyfriend and the exploding grenade gave her burns to her head and calves. No drugs were found in Russell's apartment and the Minneapolis City Council agreed to pay $1 million in damages.[59]

In January 2011, Rogelio Serrato in Greenfield, California, died of smoke inhalation after a flashbang grenade launched by the Greenfield Police Department's SWAT team ignited a fire in his home.[60]

Referring to the 2011 Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City, Glen Greenwald wrote, "The police response was so excessive, and so clearly modeled after battlefield tactics, that there was no doubt that deterring domestic dissent is one of the primary aims of police militarization."[61]

The Oakland Police Department used excessive force while breaking up Occupy Oakland demonstrations in 2011. Several protesters successfully sued the city of Oakland, California for their injuries; Scott Olsen was severely injured after being hit in the head with a police projectile and was awarded $4.5 million. The city paid $1.17 million to a group of protesters, and $645,000 to Kayvan Sabeghi, who was clubbed by police.[62]

A police sharpshooter with a sniper rifle provides overwatch at the Ferguson protest regarding the shooting of Michael Brown.

On May 28, 2014, a SWAT team looking for drugs in a Cornelia, Georgia home threw a flashbang grenade into the house. The grenade landed in the playpen of a 19-month-old baby boy, and the detonation severely burned and mutilated the baby's face.[63]

In late 2014, concerns about the militarization of police arose after the shooting of Michael Brown occurred on August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. The response of area police agencies in dealing with the protests received significant criticism from the media and politicians. There were concerns over insensitivity, tactics and a militarized response. In recent years, the use of military equipment and tactics for community policing and for public order policing has become more widespread.[64][65] Lawmakers have begun to discuss the topic.[66][67]

SWAT teams

A member of the Wichita Falls SWAT team conducts a rifle drill.

Special Weapons and Tactics teams are police units in the United States that use specialized or military equipment and tactics. First created in the 1960s for riot control or violent confrontations with gunmen, the number and usage of SWAT teams increased in the 1980s and 1990s during the War on Drugs, and in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. In the United States today, SWAT teams are deployed 50,000-80,000 times every year, 80% of the time in order to serve search warrants, most often for narcotics. SWAT teams are increasingly equipped with military-type hardware and are trained to deploy against threats of terrorism, for crowd control, and in situations beyond the capabilities of ordinary police, sometimes deemed "high-risk." Other countries have developed their own paramilitary police units (PPU)s that are also described as or compared to SWAT police forces.

SWAT units are often equipped with specialized firearms including submachine guns, assault rifles, breaching shotguns, sniper rifles, riot control agents, and stun grenades. They have specialized equipment including heavy body armor, ballistic shields, entry tools, armored vehicles, advanced night vision optics, and motion detectors for covertly determining the positions of hostages or hostage takers, inside enclosed structures.

The increased use of SWAT teams is a hallmark of increased police militarization. The Cato Institute's Radley Balko wrote that during the 1970s, there were about 300 SWAT raids a year and as of 2005 there were 40,000 a year. SWAT teams being used for gambling crackdowns and serving a search warrant are routine in some places, like Fairfax, VA.[68]"There has been a more than 1400% increase in the amount of SWAT deployments between 1980 and 2000, according to estimates...by Eastern Kentucky University professor Peter Kraska."[69] Balko states that in 2007, "...a Dallas SWAT team raided a Veterans [organization's]... charity poker games. In 2010, a team of heavily armed Orange County, Florida, sheriff’s deputies raided several barbershops, holding barbers and customers at gunpoint while they turned the shops inside out. Of the 37 people arrested, 34 were taken in for "barbering without a license."[70] The ACLU has stated that "... heavily armed SWAT teams are raiding people’s homes in the middle of the night, often just to search for drugs", causing people to "needlessly di[e] during these raids," in which neighborhoods are turned into "warzones".[71]

Snipers

Honolulu Police Department Specialized Services Division Counter-Sniper Team does aerial platform training.

Law enforcement snipers, commonly called police snipers, and military snipers differ in many ways, including their areas of operation and tactics. A police sharpshooter is part of a police operation and usually takes part in relatively short missions. Police forces typically deploy such sharpshooters in hostage scenarios. This differs from a military sniper, who operates as part of a larger army, engaged in warfare. Sometimes as part of a SWAT team, police snipers are deployed alongside negotiators and an assault team trained for close quarters combat. As policemen, they are trained to shoot only as a last resort, when there is a direct threat to life; the police sharpshooter has a well-known rule: "Be prepared to take a life to save a life."[72] Police snipers typically operate at much shorter ranges than military snipers, generally under 100 meters (109 yd) and sometimes even less than 50 meters (55 yd). Both types of snipers do make difficult shots under pressure, and often perform one-shot kills.

A U.S. Secret Service sniper on the roof of the White House

Police units that are unequipped for tactical operations may rely on a specialized SWAT team, which may have a dedicated sniper. Police snipers placed in vantage points, such as high buildings, can provide security for events.[73] In one high-profile incident, Mike Plumb, a SWAT sniper in Columbus, Ohio, prevented a suicide by shooting a revolver out of the individual's hand, leaving him unharmed.[74]

A U.S. Coast Guard TACLET marksman uses an M107 from a helicopter.

The need for specialized training for police sharpshooters was made apparent in 1972 during the Munich massacre when the German police could not deploy specialized personnel or equipment during the standoff at the airport in the closing phase of the crisis, and consequently all of the Israeli hostages were killed. While the German army did have snipers in 1972, the use of snipers of the German army in the scenario was impossible due to the German constitution's explicit prohibition of the use of the military in domestic matters. This lack of trained snipers who could be used in civilian roles was later addressed with the founding of the specialized police counter-terrorist unit GSG 9, which subsequently became a widely copied model for a police special forces unit.

In September 2015, a San Bernardino Sheriff's Department sniper shot a suspect in a fast-moving car from a helicopter. The suspect leapt from his car and died on the side of the road, but his vehicle continued forward, striking another vehicle and critically injuring three civilians.[75]

Protest policing

Rank of Icelandic National Police officers in full riot gear during the 2008 Icelandic lorry driver protests

Observers have noted the militarizing of the policing of protests.[12][13] Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police who act in the role of riot police in particular situations or they may be separate units organized within or in parallel to regular police forces. Riot police are used in a variety of different situations and for a variety of different purposes. They may be employed to control riots as their name suggests, to disperse or control crowds, to maintain public order or discourage criminality, or to protect people or property. In some cases, riot police may function as a tool of political repression by violently breaking up protests and suppressing dissent or civil disobedience.

A riot policeman sprays pepper spray at seated protesters during the WTO protests in Seattle in 1999.

Riot police often use special equipment termed riot gear to help protect themselves and attack protesters or rioters. Riot gear typically includes personal armor, batons, riot shields and riot helmets. Many riot police teams also deploy specialized less-than-lethal weapons, such as pepper spray, tear gas, rifles that fire rubber bullets or plastic bullets, flashbang grenades, and Long Range Acoustic Devices (sound cannons).

The police tactics used during the 2001 Quebec City protest serve as an example of the approaches used by North American riot police. During the protest, riot police fired tear gas canisters, water cannon, and rubber bullets,[76] dispersing large groupings of protesters both violent and peaceful, including teach-ins and teams of medics providing first aid to other protesters. Other tactical interventions aimed at arresting various perceived movement leaders.[77] Allegedly, "plastic bullets were being used increasingly [by riot police], and from guns with laser sights so at night people could often see that the cops were intentionally aiming for heads or groins."[78]

Weapons

A Colt AR-15 Carbine with a Colt 4×20 scope.
A Colt AR-15 Carbine with a Colt 4×20 scope.
A Colt M4 Carbine with scope.
A Colt M4 Carbine with scope.
An M16 assault rifle.
An M16 assault rifle.
The Heckler & Koch MP5, a submachine gun.
The Heckler & Koch MP5, a submachine gun.
The .50 BMG calibre M107 sniper rifle is almost identical to the Barrett M82 pictured here.
The .50 BMG calibre M107 sniper rifle is almost identical to the Barrett M82 pictured here.

Some U.S. SWAT teams have adopted the AR-15 carbine. Some U.S. police departments are using the M4 carbine, which will replace the M16 as the main U.S. army combat assault rifle. Arthur Rizer, a former police officer and soldier who has begun writing about police militarization states that in 2006, he saw a "a policeman at the airport in...Minneapolis carrying an M4 [carbine],..the same rifle" that he used "when patrolling...Fallujah" as a soldier in a combat zone. Rizer points out that the M4 rifle "...is a long distance weapon. If the police need to kill someone who is far away, that does not fit the concept of protecting and serving your community."[79] After the North Hollywood shootout in 1997, the Department of Defense gave 600 surplus M16 assault rifles to LAPD, which were issued to each patrol sergeant. Various U.S. SWAT teams are armed with the Heckler & Koch MP5, a submachine gun.

U.S. law enforcement agencies such as the Coast Guard, the New York City Police Department, and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police use the Barrett M82, standardized by the U.S. military as the M107. Police use the M82 to breach barriers, because the large-calibre .50 BMG round it fires will penetrate most commercial brick walls and concrete blocks. It is an anti-materiel rifle designated as a Special Application Sniper Rifle and designed for use against military equipment (materiel), rather than against other combatants ("anti-personnel"). It is used by many armies around the world both in regular forces and in special forces units. As it uses a .50 BMG round, this has led to some debates in the U.S. armed forces about the legality of using such a large anti-materiel rifle round against a human. There have been persistent reports that some U.S. military personnel believe that the use of .50 BMG in a direct antipersonnel role is prohibited by the laws of war. However, Maj. Hays Parks states that "No treaty language exists (either generally or specifically) to support a limitation on [the use of .50 BMG] against personnel, and its widespread, longstanding use in this role suggests that such antipersonnel employment is the customary practice of nations."[80]

Community policing

The drift toward militarization concerns police officers and police policy analysts themselves. U.S. community policing grew out of the Peelian Principles of the London Metropolitan Police which emphasizes the relationship between the police and the community they serve. Police academy education patterned after a military boot camp, military-type battle dress uniforms and black color by itself may produce aggression, as do the missions named wars on crime, on drugs, and on terrorism.[81]

Constitutional rights

Civil liberties groups have noticed an increase in the number of infringements of private citizens' First Amendment right to engage in peaceful political activity.[82][83] There have been cases of people being arrested for expressing controversial opinions on social media.[84]

There are concerns that private citizens' Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures is being violated in their homes,[85][86] their businesses,[87][88] when they travel,[89][90] when they move about their cities,[91][92] at roadblocks[93][94] and when they communicate electronically.[95][96]

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the ACLU, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) revealed that it was operating a nationwide network of license plate tracking cameras which were used to monitor the movement of suspects, but which was used to build up a record of all driver movement.[97] In 2009, the DEA began sharing this data with other law enforcement agencies.[98]

The Chicago Police Department have been accused of operating a "black site" in which suspects were held without being booked and where they could not be found by their attorneys or families. Suspects were allegedly shackled and beaten.[99][100]

A police SWAT team with automatic weapons, helmets and body armor

Viewpoints

The ACLU has stated that local police use these "wartime weapons in everyday policing, especially to fight the wasteful and failed drug war, which has unfairly targeted people of color."[71] Travis Irvine from The Huffington Post referred to how "local police forces now roll tank-like vehicles through our streets."[101] Dave Pruett from The Huffington Post raised concerns about "Military Humvees, still in camouflage and mounted with machine guns, in the hands of municipal police [and] SWAT teams of police in full riot gear, bristling with automatic weapons."[102] Former "...Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper published an essay arguing that the current epidemic of police brutality is a reflection of the militarization...of our urban police forces, the result of years of the "war on drugs" and the "war on terror."[103] Senator Rand Paul has proposed a demilitarization of U.S. police departments, stating that "The images and scenes we continue to see in Ferguson resemble war more than traditional police action."[104]

Chuck Canterbury, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police, argued that the equipment received from the federal government had been properly de-militarized, and that it was being used to protect civilians from violent crime. He further stated that the use of equipment by law enforcement was necessary to protect civilians, since mass shootings have taken place across the United States, even in small towns. Responding to claims that law enforcement officers were being given tanks, Canterbury argued that the vehicles being used by law enforcement were not armed, and that they were being used across the United States to protect other officers.[105]

Former Attorney General Ed Meese states that "when police officers face unusually dangerous situations, they need all possible protective equipment, including specialized gear and vehicles that may be used by the military"; he states that "officers and supervisors must take extreme care and utilize special safety measures to avoid the risks that come with the severe hazards involved in such exceptional use."[106]

On March 23, 2015, a Department of Justice investigation into use of deadly force by the Philadelphia Police Department found that the way officers are trained may be a contributing factor to excessive use of deadly force. The report found that a) many officers have the mistaken assumption that being "in fear of their life" is justification for the use of deadly force, but fear should not be a factor - it's a reasonable belief that deadly force is necessary to avoid death or serious injury; b) instruction about policies on the use of force is confusing; c) most training scenarios end in some type of use of force and officers are rarely, if ever, trained how to resolve confrontations peacefully; d) 80% of shooting victims were black - black suspects were much more likely to be perceived as a threat; and e) no consistent procedure was in place for shooting investigations, no audio or video recordings of officer interviews were being made, and officers are often interviewed months after the incidents.[107][108]

In a report released in June 2015, Amnesty International alleged that the United States does not comply with international norms for the use of deadly force by police.[109]

Protest policing

Tear gas

Tear gas in use in France at political protest in 2007

Tear gas, which is widely used by law enforcement officers during protests and riots, is a chemical weapon developed by the U.S. Army's Chemical Warfare Service in 1919.[110] Tear gas stimulates the nerves of the lacrymal gland in the eyes to cause tears, pain, vomiting, and even blindness. Common lachrymators include pepper spray (OC gas), CS gas, CR gas, CN gas (phenacyl chloride), nonivamide, bromoacetone, xylyl bromide, syn-propanethial-S-oxide, and Mace (a branded mixture).

As with all non-lethal, or less-than-lethal weapons, there is some risk of serious permanent injury or death when tear gas is used.[111][112] This includes risks from being hit by tear gas cartridges, which include severe bruising, loss of eyesight, skull fracture, and even death.[113] A case of serious vascular injury from tear gas shells has also been reported from Iran, with high rates of associated nerve injury (44%) and amputation (17%),[114] as well as instances of head injuries in young people.[115]

While the medical consequences of the gases themselves are typically limited to minor skin inflammation, delayed complications are also possible: people with pre-existing respiratory conditions such as asthma, who are particularly at risk, are likely to need medical attention[116] and may sometimes require hospitalization or even ventilation support.[117] Skin exposure to CS may cause chemical burns[118] or induce allergic contact dermatitis.[116][119] When people are hit at close range or are severely exposed, eye injuries involving scarring of the cornea can lead to a permanent loss in visual acuity.[120]

Typical manufacturer warnings on tear gas cartridges state "Danger: Do not fire directly at person(s). Severe injury or death may result."[121] Such warnings are not necessarily respected, and in some countries, disrespecting these warnings is routine. In the 2013 protests in Turkey, there were hundreds of injuries among protesters targeted with tear gas projectiles. I

Rubber and plastic bullets

Basque police with rubber bullet guns

Rubber bullets were developed by British security forces in 1970 for use against protesters in Northern Ireland.[122][123] From 1970 to 1975, about 55,000 rubber bullets were fired by security forces in Northern Ireland.[124] Often they were fired directly at people from close range, which resulted in three people being killed and many more badly injured.[124] The rubber bullet was not approved for use by British police forces outside Northern Ireland until 2001. In 2013 however, Ministry of Defence (MoD) papers declassified from 1977 revealed it was aware rubber bullets were more dangerous than was publicly disclosed. The documents contained legal advice for the MoD to seek a settlement over a child who had been blinded in 1972, rather than go to court which would expose problems with the bullets and make it harder to fight future related cases. The papers stated that further tests would reveal serious problems with the bullets, including that they were tested "in a shorter time than was ideal", that they "could be lethal" and that they "could and did cause serious injuries".[125]

Plastic bullets were invented in 1973 by British security forces for use against protesters in Northern Ireland. They were developed to replace rubber bullets in an attempt to reduce the number of fatalities. The plastic bullet, which was designed to be fired directly at targets,[126] is a less-lethal projectile fired from a specialised gun. Although designed as a non-lethal weapon they have caused a number of deaths. If misused or used by poorly trained personnel, they can still cause fatal injury. The first plastic bullet was made of PVC,[127] was 89 mm (3.5 inches) long and 38 mm (1.5 in.) in diameter, and weighed approximately 131 g (4.6 oz).

From 1973 to 1981, just over 42,600 plastic bullets were fired in Northern Ireland. By 2005, 125,000 baton rounds had been fired, most of them plastic bullets.[128] Shortly after their introduction it was discovered they were lethal at certain ranges.[129] Fourteen people were killed by plastic bullet impacts.[130] Most of the deaths were allegedly[131][132][133] caused by security forces misusing the weapon, firing at close range and at chest or head level rather than targeting below the waist.

In 1982, the European Parliament called on member states to ban the use of plastic bullets.[134] However, they continued to be used by the British security forces in Northern Ireland. In 1984 the United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets was founded, calling for plastic bullets to be banned in Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland over 35 years (1970–2005) about 125,000 rubber and plastic bullets were fired—an average of ten per day—causing 17 deaths.[135]

In popular culture

The 2015 video game Battlefield Hardline depicts a militarized police, and it depicts both police and criminals wielding military equipment including rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers. The developer's insistence on "fantasy" while meticulously recreating LA areas and loosely basing crimes in the game on real-life crimes has subsequently been criticized.[136][137][138]

The documentary Peace Officer, which is about police militarization in the U.S., won the 2015 Documentary Feature Competition Grand Jury award at the South by Southwest Film Festival.[139][140]

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Militarization of police

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ "SAS - Weapons - Flash Bang | Stun Grenade (The British Army's SAS developed flashbang grenades)". Eliteukforces.info. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  2. ↑ The flash from a flashbang grenade detonation momentarily activates all photoreceptor cells in the eye, making vision impossible for approximately five seconds, until the eye restores itself to its normal, unstimulated state. The loud blast is meant to cause temporary loss of hearing, and also disturbs the fluid in the ear, causing loss of balance. The concussive blast of the detonation can still injure, and the heat created can ignite flammable materials.
  3. ↑ Texas Rangers, Department of Public Safety, Branch Davidian Evidence, Investigative Report No. 1, September 1999; Investigative Report No. 2, January 2000 (PDFs available at Texas Rangers website). The Rangers found that the FBI used grenade launchers to fire two 40 mm M651 grenades. The Army considers the M651 a pyrotechnic device and that it is known to cause fires. The Army Tech Manual for the M651 warns that it can penetrate 3/4" plywood at 200 meters and "projectile may explode upon target impact." During inventory of the Waco evidence the Texas Rangers also found flashbang grenades.
  4. ↑ James Joyner (June 15, 2011). "Militarization of Police". Outside the Beltway.
  5. ↑ Paul D. Shinkman (August 14, 2014). "Ferguson and the Militarization of Police". U.S. News and World Report.
  6. ↑ Michael German (December 18, 2014). "Why Police Spying On Americans Is Everyone’s Problem". Defense One.
  7. ↑ Josh Peterson (March 25, 2014). "State lawmakers push to rein in police spying". Fox News Channel.
  8. ↑ Ryan Van Velzer (June 24, 2014). "ACLU: Free military weapons making Arizona police more aggressive". The Arizona Republic.
  9. ↑ Frederick Reese (August 22, 2014). "Who Benefits From Police Militarization?". Mint Press News.
  10. ↑ Jodie Gummow (August 29, 2013). "11 over-the-top U.S. police raids that victimized innocents". Salon.
  11. ↑ GLENN GREENWALD (August 14, 2014). "THE MILITARIZATION OF U.S. POLICE: FINALLY DRAGGED INTO THE LIGHT BY THE HORRORS OF FERGUSON". The Intercept.
  12. 1 2 press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/C/bo21636470.html
  13. 1 2 http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/9/10/senate-police-militarization.html
  14. ↑ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/plastic+bullet "A solid PVC cylinder, 10 cm long and 38 mm in diameter, fired by police or military forces to regain control in riots."
  15. ↑ e.g. the Geneva Protocol of 1925: 'Prohibited the use of "asphyxiating gas, or any other kind of gas, liquids, substances or similar materials"'
  16. ↑ Michael Spratt (August 15, 2014). "The creeping militarization of the police". iPolitics.
  17. ↑ Douglas Quan (August 21, 2014). "‘We call it a rescue vehicle': Growing number of Canadian police forces bulking up with armoured vehicles". National Post.
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  19. ↑ "Canadian police agencies: Innovators in militarization?". rabble.ca.
  20. ↑ Ashley Csanady (August 15, 2014). "Police militarization is already in Canada as surveillance on the rise". Canada.com.
  21. ↑ Lee Berthiaume, Ottawa Citizen More Lee Berthiaume, Ottawa Citizen. "Mounties now toting submachine guns for Hill security". Ottawa Citizen.
  22. ↑ David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen More David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen. "Boost firepower of Mounties guarding Parliament Hill, says senator". Ottawa Citizen.
  23. ↑ "Police Militarization: Similarities Between Ferguson and Brazil". wola.org.
  24. 1 2 "Despite Current Debate, Police Militarisation Goes Beyond U.S. Borders". ipsnews.net.
  25. ↑ Maureen Meyer (March 13, 2013). "Mexico’s New Military Police Force: The Continued Militarization of Public Security in Mexico". Washington Office on Latin America.
  26. ↑ [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/14/missing-students-mexico_n_6321866.html Roque Planas and Carolina Moreno "Damning Report Claims Mexican Federal Police Participated In Disappearance Of 43 Students"] Check |url= value (help). The Huffington Post. December 14, 2014. line feed character in |url= at position 80 (help)
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  29. ↑ THE POSSE COMITATUS ACT: A HINDRANCE TO NATIONAL SECURITY IN NEED OF A CHANGE
  30. ↑ The Posse Comitatus Act: Liberation from the Lawyers
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  44. ↑ LAPD gets M16s; LAPD museum showcases department's good, bad, ugly.
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  57. ↑ James Ridgeway (August 28, 2009). "The Secret History of Hurricane Katrina". Mother Jones.
  58. ↑ "Denver settles suit linked to 2008 Democratic National Convention". The Denver Post. August 16, 2011.
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  137. ↑ Luke Plunkett. "Soldier Cops Aren't So Fun Now, Video Games". Kotaku.
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  139. ↑ Karen Foshay (March 19, 2015). "When the SWAT team you founded kills your son-in-law". Al Jazeera.
  140. ↑ Matt Donnelly (March 17, 2015). "SXSW 2015: ‘Krisha,’ ‘Peace Officer’ Top Film Festival Jury and Special Awards". The Wrap.
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