The Fuzz is Out of Control
NPR reports that "the entire narcotics division of the Atlanta police department is under suspension" after a drug bust gone awry left an 88-year-old woman dead.
The entire narcotics division is suspended. Are you kidding me?
The overblown police raid is sad confirmation of a disturbing trend. The Cato Institute published a report several months ago, claiming that police departments are increasing the "militarization of...civilian law enforcement, [with a] dramatic and unsettling rise in the use of paramilitary police units."
The report goes on to say, "These increasingly frequent raids, 40,000 per year by one estimate, are needlessly subjecting nonviolent drug offenders, bystanders, and wrongly targeted civilians to the terror of having their homes invaded while they’re sleeping, usually by teams of heavily armed paramilitary units dressed not as police officers but as soldiers. These raids bring unnecessary violence and provocation to nonviolent drug offenders, many of whom were guilty of only misdemeanors. The raids terrorize innocents when police mistakenly target the wrong residence. And they have resulted in dozens of needless deaths and injuries, not only of drug offenders, but also of police officers, children, bystanders, and innocent suspects."
In a related story, three New York Police Officers have been suspended for killing an unarmed man. The officers allegedly shot the man over 50 times.
For those of us who have been paying attention to hip hop lyrics over the past 10 years, these sad stories don't really come as much of a surprise.
America: home of the free...liberty and justice for all....right.
The entire narcotics division is suspended. Are you kidding me?
The overblown police raid is sad confirmation of a disturbing trend. The Cato Institute published a report several months ago, claiming that police departments are increasing the "militarization of...civilian law enforcement, [with a] dramatic and unsettling rise in the use of paramilitary police units."
The report goes on to say, "These increasingly frequent raids, 40,000 per year by one estimate, are needlessly subjecting nonviolent drug offenders, bystanders, and wrongly targeted civilians to the terror of having their homes invaded while they’re sleeping, usually by teams of heavily armed paramilitary units dressed not as police officers but as soldiers. These raids bring unnecessary violence and provocation to nonviolent drug offenders, many of whom were guilty of only misdemeanors. The raids terrorize innocents when police mistakenly target the wrong residence. And they have resulted in dozens of needless deaths and injuries, not only of drug offenders, but also of police officers, children, bystanders, and innocent suspects."
In a related story, three New York Police Officers have been suspended for killing an unarmed man. The officers allegedly shot the man over 50 times.
For those of us who have been paying attention to hip hop lyrics over the past 10 years, these sad stories don't really come as much of a surprise.
America: home of the free...liberty and justice for all....right.
posted by Mr. Bob Harris at 2:12 PM
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