Why Do the Police Have Tanks? The Strange and Dangerous Militarization of the US Police Force - Polidicks

But mah tinfoil hat :( Nah, just having an afterskate trollorama :D people on FP get so serious that it's fun. Best way to relax. Edit: Especially Americans. :D [highlight](User was banned for this post ("trolling" - GunFox))[/highlight]

[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;31228995]The cops are at the door. No search warrant. You have 10 seconds before the door explodes and they shoot you.[/QUOTE] SWAT raids ARE warrant services. They are universally approved by a judge or it is simply breaking and entering. There isn't a court in the US that would let that slide. People don't understand the police at all, so they fear them like idiots.

how about we just give the cops better education so we stop getting either the trigger happy, retarded type or the fat doughnut eating ones.

[QUOTE=Kelju;31233830]But mah tinfoil hat :( Nah, just having an afterskate trollorama :D people on FP get so serious that it's fun. Best way to relax. Edit: Especially Americans. :D [highlight](User was banned for this post ("trolling" - GunFox))[/highlight][/QUOTE] Haha lol i <3 trollin so muhc bro we shud troll togehter some time ;) Shut up.

[QUOTE=Kelju;31233830]But mah tinfoil hat :( Nah, just having an afterskate trollorama :D people on FP get so serious that it's fun. Best way to relax. Edit: Especially Americans. :D [highlight](User was banned for this post ("trolling" - GunFox))[/highlight][/QUOTE] Lose argument, claim trolling. How is that working out for you?

Admittedly, sometimes SWAT gets the house wrong, but other than that they are fine IMO. A former friend of mine used to tell a story of how the PD got the High Risk Warrant Service location wrong, and happened to get his door busted by SWAT.

[QUOTE=Kelju;31233830]But mah tinfoil hat :( Nah, just having an afterskate trollorama :D people on FP get so serious that it's fun. Best way to relax. Edit: Especially Americans. :D [highlight](User was banned for this post ("trolling" - GunFox))[/highlight][/QUOTE] yeah man joking about police teams shooting innocent people and a dystopian police state so funneh XD

[QUOTE=Kelju;31233830]But mah tinfoil hat :( Nah, just having an afterskate trollorama :D people on FP get so serious that it's fun. Best way to relax. Edit: Especially Americans. :D [highlight](User was banned for this post ("trolling" - GunFox))[/highlight][/QUOTE] Yes because taking the time to detail why you hate police and why were turning in to a police state to support your stupid anti-law enforcement ideas is "trolling"

[QUOTE=Ridge;31226596]People here keep referring to WACO. There was no SWAT teams there. It was all federal agencies like the FBI and ATF...[/quote] Which just goes to show that many more lives could have been saved had there been a SWAT team there or had the patrol officers been outfitted with heavier weaponry. [quote]Personally, I hate seeing the police outfitted like this. Under what possible circumstances would a patrol officer need to flip his M-16 to automatic and unleash a hellstorm of bullets? What can it do that a civilian semi auto AR-15 cannot?[/quote] An M-16 can be flipped to automatic so that it can unleash a hellstorm of bullets. An AR-15 cannot, showing how the M-16 is a superior weapon. Thank you for explaining this. [quote]And SWAT was originally designed to be used in case of hostage situations and attacking known armed fugitives. Not the bullshit they are used for now like kicking down a door in a suburban neighborhood to bust someone for pot.[/quote] That sounds frightening. Luckily it never happens. [quote]Personally, it IS frightening to see such a militarized police force in every town.[/QUOTE] Yes please keep shoving the word "personally" in front of your posts because it help me understand that you are a fucking moron who shits in every thread he enters.

Thank you GunFox for getting the troll out of this thread.

I've heard reports of gangs with RPGs in some parts of New York.

[QUOTE=lulzbocksV2;31234921]An M-16 can be flipped to automatic so that it can unleash a hellstorm of bullets. An AR-15 cannot, showing how the M-16 is a superior weapon. Thank you for explaining this.[/QUOTE] Only the A1 and A3 models were Automatic. The A2 and A4 (most commonly used) are Semi and Burst.

And again, patrol officers are not even issued M16s, they are issued AR15s so the point is moot.

[QUOTE=OrionChronicles;31233881]how about we just give the cops better education so we stop getting either the trigger happy, retarded type or the fat doughnut eating ones.[/QUOTE] Better education doesn't stop assault rifle rounds.

[QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;31237445]Better education doesn't stop assault rifle rounds.[/QUOTE] It makes it to where we won't have to worry about police officers being abusive cunts that do crazy shit that we hear about on the news. I'm not saying that ever policeman is like that, by the way, I'm just saying we'd have more responsible people holding the guns.

[quote]The SWAT team leader then burst into the house and fired a single shot which struck the child in the throat, killing her.[/quote] What the hell?! :silent: But I can understand full well why they're militarizing the police forces of my great nation (I love my country, not the dumbasses who run it). The black market opens up so many possibilities for criminals, like rocket launchers, heavy weapons, and more. It's really understandable.

[QUOTE=Chicken_Chaser;31238312]It makes it to where we won't have to worry about police officers being abusive cunts that do crazy shit that we hear about on the news. I'm not saying that ever policeman is like that, by the way, I'm just saying we'd have more responsible people holding the guns.[/QUOTE] 99% of the time we do have responsible people holding the guns. It's the occasional 1/100000 cop that goes nuts or makes a big mistake. [editline]21st July 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=rosar0980;31239082]What the hell?! :silent: But I can understand full well why they're militarizing the police forces of my great nation (I love my country, not the dumbasses who run it). The black market opens up so many possibilities for criminals, like rocket launchers, heavy weapons, and more. It's really understandable.[/QUOTE] It's not like you can walk down behind walmart and pick up an RPG and a .50 cal M2, or order a rocket launcher off of Ebay.

[QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;31239169]It's not like you can walk down behind walmart and pick up an RPG and a .50 cal M2, or order a rocket launcher off of Ebay.[/QUOTE] No but if someone's crazy or desperate enough they could make their own or find the right channels

[QUOTE=lulzbocksV2;31234921]Which just goes to show that many more lives could have been saved had there been a SWAT team there or had the patrol officers been outfitted with heavier weaponry. [/QUOTE] Heavier weaponry? Are you joking? They had Bradley IFVs.

[QUOTE=Billiam;31240152]Heavier weaponry? Are you joking? They had Bradley IFVs.[/QUOTE] [url]http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Activities_of_Federal_Law_Enforcement_Agencies_Toward_the_Branch_Davidians/Section_5#b._National_Guard_personnel_and_equipment[/url] [quote]During the standoff, the Texas National Guard provided a number of military vehicles to the FBI. Principal among these were 10 Bradley Fighting Vehicles (Bradleys), 4 M728 Combat Engineering Vehicles (CEV's), 2 M1A1 Abrams tanks, and 1 M88 tank retriever. [b]The weapons systems in those of these vehicles which are normally armed were removed[/b] before they were transported to the Branch Davidian residence.[/quote]

[QUOTE=rosar0980;31239927]No but if someone's crazy or desperate enough they could make their own or find the right channels[/QUOTE] Yes, because rocket launchers and crew served machine guns are showing up everywhere! (Hint: No they aren't.)

[QUOTE=GunFox;31241235]Yes, because rocket launchers and crew served machine guns are showing up everywhere! (Hint: No they aren't.)[/QUOTE] But they must be! The always trustworthy government and 24 hour news networks have assured me that all the machine guns and rocket launchers and hand grenades in the war in Mexico are coming from US gun shows...

[QUOTE=Tac Error;31240304][url]http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Activities_of_Federal_Law_Enforcement_Agencies_Toward_the_Branch_Davidians/Section_5#b._National_Guard_personnel_and_equipment[/url][/QUOTE] Even unarmed, making the argument that the FBI was lacking heavy weaponry is ridiculous.

[QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;31222092]Do you guys remember that time those 2 nuts with full auto AK47's with 100-200 round box mags using armor piercing ammo and covered from head to toe in kevlar and body armor, robbed a bank and wounded dozens of police officers? Yah, we couldn't take those 2 down because we DIDN'T have police officers with Assault rifles, and our guys were wounded because we DIDN'T have armored vehicles.[/QUOTE] What I find funny is that a normal citizen can easily get these kinds of weapons and our officers couldn't before. But currently I disagree with this law due to the corruption in our police force and the laws we have in place. Remember that law that recently got approved that let's a police officer storm your house without announcing anything? Yeah, now with assault rifles.

[QUOTE=ForgottenKanez;31242333]What I find funny is that a normal citizen can easily get these kinds of weapons and our officers couldn't before.[/QUOTE]with an extensive background check, a waiting list, and a $200 fee on top of the cost of buying and owning the weapon [editline]21st July 2011[/editline] and an officer could have a howitzer if he wants, he just has to supply it himself. the standard issue guns they hand out are pistols, and there's a difference between standard issue and required

This has been going on for a long time, probably beginning in the late 70s. And the reasoning has always been- "better safe than sorry", and step by step they arm themselves more. One instance of the police using the full power it was entrusted to was when Philadelphia Police acted against a group called MOVE for being a "public nuisance" and engaging in criminal activity. And what did they do? [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOVE#1985_bombing]Read on[/url]: [quote]In 1981, MOVE relocated to a row house at 6221 Osage Avenue in the Cobbs Creek area of West Philadelphia. On May 13, 1985, responding to months of complaints by neighbors that MOVE members broadcast political messages by bullhorn at all hours and also about the health hazards posed by the piles of compost, as well as indictments of various MOVE members for various crimes, including parole violation, contempt of court, illegal possession of firearms, and making terrorist threats the police department attempted to clear the building and arrest the indicted MOVE members, which lead to an armed standoff with police. The police lobbed tear gas canisters at the building and the fire department battered the roof of the house with two water cannons. MOVE members fired on the police, and the police responded by returning fire. [b]A police helicopter then dropped a four-pound bomb made of C-4 plastic explosive and Tovex, a dynamite substitute, onto the roof of the house[/b]. The resulting explosion caused incendiary materials listed in the police indictment, and stored by MOVE in the house, to catch fire, thus causing the house to catch fire. [b]The resulting fire ignited a massive blaze which eventually destroyed 65 houses. Eleven people, including John Africa, five other adults and five children, died in the resulting fire[/b]. The firefighters were stopped from putting out the fire based on allegations that firefighters were being shot at, a claim that was contested by the lone adult survivor Ramona Africa, who says that the firefighters had earlier battered the house with two deluge pumps when there was no fire. Ramona Africa and one child, Birdie Africa, were the only survivors.[/quote] Besides the spending involved here, it just begins to send out the wrong vibes. Instead of trying to solve the economic and social problems that some crime sprouts from, it's merely a "reaction" to it rearing itself.

[QUOTE=zomgfoo;31226015]Arizona's toughest sheriff actually has a tank. [url=http://matchbin-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/public/sites/529/assets/98WZ_RP_hunt_arizona_tank.jpg]It's black, though.[/url][/QUOTE] Sorry buddy, but that there's a self-propelled howitzer, not a tank. :v:

[QUOTE=Billiam;31242279]Even unarmed, making the argument that the FBI was lacking heavy weaponry is ridiculous.[/QUOTE] Um, what? So if the FBI were unarmed they would still not be lacking heavier weaponry? Is this real life? [editline]21st July 2011[/editline] Your contention is even if those vehicles did not possess their weapon systems, they still count as heavy weaponry?? Without their weapon systems they are little more than moving chunks of steel to protect the occupants, I don't see how this is heavy weaponry when there is no weaponry to be used.

[QUOTE=ForgottenKanez;31242333]What I find funny is that a normal citizen can easily get these kinds of weapons and our officers couldn't before. But currently I disagree with this law due to the corruption in our police force and the laws we have in place. Remember that law that recently got approved that let's a police officer storm your house without announcing anything? Yeah, now with assault rifles.[/QUOTE] That law is for when people aren't home, genius. It is called a sneak and peek warrant. The idea being that it lets them see what you have *without* kicking down your door and storming the place because such warrants carry risks.

[QUOTE=Lachz0r;31222042]police aren't military and shouldn't be treated like it. we've all seen how poorly the military has conducted it's wars in iraq and afghanistan, you want the police force to fuck up that badly at home?[/QUOTE] How exactly have they poorly conducted the wars in Irag and Afghanistan? Are you a tactician? Do you even know what you are talking about? No you don't.