Happened WAY before that. See '92 LA riots. And those riots didn't even cause them to become a street militia with protection from the law - they were a response to it.

This. CBC Radio One had an interesting segment on this exact question this morning. Whereas SWAT teams were once used only in situations of utmost emergency (eg.: active shooters), they now get called in to do house raids (mostly on drugs, often for small amounts of drugs). It seems like the sense of "proportionality"…

There are serious issues up there, just consider that St Louis County PD handles police services for neighboring Jennings, MO since 2011 do to corruption in that city. Throw in an almost all white government and police force (because black kids don't want to be cops, actual quote) in a mostly black town, and this was…

"Well, the police clearly are looking at this as an "us versus them" situation," and that is exactly what is fucked about them. I don't think we should contribute our rhetoric to reify their world view. I just feel like whenever "both sides" is used you get into tricky territory that starts erasing actual facts and…

Imagine if all of the resources spent on this military materiel (either donated to the town by the Pentagon, which is what happens to "excess" supplies, or bought through federal funds) had been spent on education or otherwise alleviating poverty and racial injustice in the region.

Yeah, a lot of the blame for this falls squarely on Clinton's doorstep. Also of note: in the latest defense appropriation bill, Alan Grayson introduced an amendment to block the distribution of surplus military hardware to police departments. It was defeated 355 - 62, with a relatively even mix of Democrats and…

That certainly exacerbated it, but I'd say this particular strain of policing started with the War on Drugs in the '80s.

This happened because a black kid was shit in missouri. Think LA riots, think what almost happened with Treyvon Martin. What happened with Treyvon Martin actually left more than enough doubt to actually accuse Zimmerman, however this case? All the evidence suggests the cop was a racist cunt who fucked up big time. As…

Apparently the lawn flamingos in the yards of neighborhood houses were refusing to disperse, because they sure tear gassed the hell out of them.

The "1033 program" under which the federal government gives surplus equipment to law enforcement was signed by Clinton. And it has gained even more steam under Obama.

And comparisons like this are just so chilling.

Oh, I get it. The "remarkable amount of restraint" is remarkable because of how small it is.

What. The. Fuck. is a civilian police force doing with battlefield weapons?

Time to bust out a new burner name: TheonGreycommentJoy.

so this is a pager for your cell phone.