Around the anniversary of the police shooting of Michael Brown, law enforcement officers
in Ferguson, Missouri were ordered to return their military Humvees to the Pentagon.
This is following widespread criticism of the continued militarization of America’s
local police forces.
So, why are the police acting like an occupying armed force instead of a law enforcement agency?
What exactly is militarization?
Well, after the Civil War, Congress passed the Posse Comitatus Act, which ended the practice
of using military personnel as domestic law enforcement.
In the following years, police were well armed to deal with day-to-day disturbances.
But in the early 20th century, organized crime during Prohibition and the Great Depression
posed a new challenge.
Criminals began using high powered and automatic weapons, which meant that officers had to
be able to match their firepower.
In response, police began carrying submachine guns, and using armored cars.
In the 1960s, bank robberies and riots necessitated even more powerful police weaponry.
This led to the creation of the quasi-military SWAT team, which was used sparingly, but to
great effect in high danger situations.
Although police were considerably more powerful, there was still a clear separation between
military and domestic forces.
That is, until the War on Drugs.
Ten years after the War on Drugs was announced, Ronald Reagan passed a federal law allowing
police to cooperate with the military, and use their military equipment.
He justified this as a necessary step in fighting the domestic Drug War.
With this new cooperation, police were able to access military-grade rifles used for jungle
warfare in Vietnam.
A 1997 shootout between heavily armed bank robbers and insufficiently equipped police
officers served as a catalyst for the US government to begin the “1033 program."
This was an effort to distribute an array of military equipment to law enforcement agencies
countrywide.
In 17 years, the program sent out more than 5 billion dollars worth of equipment, including
things like grenade launchers, aircrafts, and armored cars.
One small county in South Carolina received a $650,000 dollar, landmine-resistant war
vehicle with a 50-caliber machine gun turret.
With domestic police now equipped as a military force, public perception of their role in
the US has been drastically changing.
Instead of seeing a friendly police officer who is willing to help, citizens see body-armor
clad militants, driving around in vehicles designed to survive bomb blasts.
Unfortunately, the militarization trend is unlikely to go away.
A 2015 study found that nearly all lawmakers who voted to continue the 1033 program had
received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from defense contractors.
In May 2015, President Barack Obama addressed the problems of giving police forces military
equipment with insufficient training or limitations.
Things like grenade launchers and armored vehicles with mounted guns were removed from
the transfer program.
Obama even compared the militarization of police to having an occupying armed force
roaming the streets.
Although many citizens agree that treating and supplying police with military grade equipment
is dangerous and disruptive, the bulk of the program still remains, and is likely to continue.
Besides devoting a lot of money to militarizing its domestic police, the U.S. gives billions
of dollars to military defense every year.
Watch the video to learn more.
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