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Have seen many varieties of this observation, which is spot on and distressing. For context on how it got this bad, everyone should follow @radleybalko and read his book Rise of The Warrior Cop to understand the militarization of police https://www.amazon.com/dp/1610392116/ref=nodl_?creativeASIN=1610392116&imprToken=pufKXAA..sgFzxGbu9UfRA&slotNum=0&tag=to0322-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1 https://twitter.com/alexedelman/status/1266849559575175170
Here is an excerpt from when the book launched https://www.wsj.com/articles/rise-of-the-warrior-cop-1375908008
“Since the 1960s, in response to a range of perceived threats, law-enforcement agencies across the U.S., at every level of government, have been blurring the line between police officer and soldier.”
“What would it take to dial back such excessive police measures? The obvious place to start would be ending the federal grants that encourage police forces to acquire gear that is more appropriate for the battlefield.”
In the aftermath of Ferguson, Obama took steps to end some transfers of military gear from Federal to state and local governments, but it had little lasting impact https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2015/05/18/obama-moves-to-demilitarize-americas-police/
Military transfers continued even after restrictions were placed on the 1033 program http://inthesetimes.com/features/obama_police_miltary_equipment_ban.html
And of course Trump overturned the decision anyway https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/us/politics/trump-police-military-surplus-equipment.html
The important part about overturning the modest restrictions on military gear transfers was more the mindset of policing than anything https://twitter.com/radleybalko/status/902173320103251968
Jeff Sessions wanted no part of restricting police behavior https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/4/15537952/jeff-sessions-police-justice-department-trump?_gl=1*6w8luf
Another smaller contributor is cities using civil asset forfeiture to fund purchases of military equipment. Steal from citizens to buy equipment to terrorize citizens. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2014/10/11/asset-seizures-fuel-police-spending/
“Grossman’s classes teach officers to be less hesitant to use lethal force, urge them to be willing to do it more quickly and teach them how to adopt the mentality of a warrior. Jeronimo Yanez, who shot and killed Philando Castille in July, had attended” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2016/09/30/do-not-resist-a-chilling-look-at-the-normalization-of-warrior-cops/
“The Humvee had been procured through a Pentagon program that made surplus military equipment available to even the most rural departments.” https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/03/18/us/forced-entry-warrant-drug-raid.html?mtrref=undefined&gwh=13841CFA332DD9E696B1AE99E3A526A2&gwt=pay&assetType=REGIWALL
