It seemed an appropriate use of the military equipment coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. Giving it to the police forces removed it from the inventory of the military to make room for new equipment and would help the police forces do a better job. The problem on the military side was the fact that instead of equipment being replaced, to often, units would be shuffled to form smaller units not needing new equipment and personnel being pink slipped. On the police side, we began to see MRAPs and armored personnel carriers roaming the streets with the emblems of the local police forces emblazoned on the sides. Well, a few days ago, the White House decided to crack-down on sending military equipment to the police.
When Barack H Obama ran for the office of President in 2008, he indicated a desire for a police force equipped much like the military to safeguard us at home. Local forces soon began receiving used equipment, with, I’m sure, suggestions on how to use it. Of course, by then, the alphabet soup of government agencies were already so equipped. Then Ferguson happened. The main talking point of the White House centered on the heavy-handedness of the Ferguson Police Force, not to mention the false narrative of a police officer shooting a man who was trying to surrender. Add the racial undertones of the officer being white and the suspect being black and you have a situation demanding Department of Justice scrutiny.
Between then and now, the DOJ has selected a dozen or so cities, including Ferguson, where the police forces are under federal control. In many of the cities, personnel was cut to the point that they could no longer do their jobs. Now, Baltimore will be added to the list. This gives rise to the national police force desired by Obama and cried for by Al “Tax Dodger” Sharpton. Last year, I was at a protest, I saw not only horse-mounted police, but armored personnel carriers in the streets. Evidently, the police forces weren’t going to agree with some of the requirements of a national police force, so, now, Obama wants to strip them of the equipment they’ve gotten, along with the some of the responsibilities of crowd control.
If you want to see a national police force at work, just look back to 2012 in Boston. After the bombings at the Boston Marathon, the federal authorities took over, bringing military equipment to bear. They told residents to stay inside and began conducting door to house to house searches. They walked up onto the porches, knocked on the door, then entered the home to search. During that period of time, the 4th Amendment was ignored. This would be the future under a national police force. I wonder if that will be a procedure practiced during Jade Helm?
marjarhead1 