For at least 20 years, law enforcement has been increasingly militarized. Soldiers at war seem to have higher rules of engagement than police officers. When a soldier kills a subdued combatant the way that officer killed #GeorgeFloyd the military calls it an execution. 1/12

That soldier would be arrested pending investigation, not put on leave. White people have an obligation to speak out against systemic targeting of black lives. But I think veterans have a special responsibility.

We should all be calling out this type of “policing” for what it is, racist, ineffective, pseudo-military tactical tough guy bullshit masquerading as law enforcement. “Way of the sheepdog” peddlers like Dave Grossman have polluted the minds of new cops for decades.

You can still find “sheepdog” training material and links to Grossman’s books on websites like http://policeone.com . His training is designed to put LEOs in a state of heightened readiness to subdue “threats,” undercutting LEOs ability to peacefully control a situation.

His books “On Killing” and “On Combat” (I’ve read both) were written to better understand and prepare for the impact killing has on soldiers to improve lethality. These are the building blocks of the training material he and others have produced for LEOs.

This mindset has infected and spread throughout a profession in America that has always had serious race issues, but used to prioritize deescalation, preservation of life and peaceful conflict resolution. Now LEOs flaunt punisher skulls with mindsets to match.

Too often we see videos of cops screaming commands with their guns drawn. When did that become the standard tactic? What happened to pulling your gun as a last resort and calmly asking someone to listen? Or just speaking to someone like a human being?

Would that increase risk to the safety of LEOs? I don’t know for certain but I doubt it. Regardless, effective policing requires accepting risk — leaving the safety of your patrol vehicle and knowing the community you SERVE.

Speaking out is not anti law enforcement or unpatriotic. I care about the mental toll that an increasingly lethal police force has on young men and women who want to protect and serve as an LEO. Taking a life, state sanctioned or not, is a heavy thing to carry for life.

You want to support law enforcement? Then support systemic change in police tactics and this mentality that has for too long pitted LEOs against black people, wiping countless black lives from this earth, and turned officers into killers instead of peace officers.

I’m just so tired of seeing the police continue to mimick the military, and fail to even do that properly. Good leaders in the military will recognize tactics that fail to help accomplish their strategic objective and change. If strategy = oppression then continue on.

If not, change your tactics. Save lives. I’m sure only a handful of people will see this but I hope other white people and vets are saying the same types of things.