Reddit reviews Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces

This story has two important points: 1. Texas justice is completely fucked up and 2. Police and prosecutors often act in ways that callously disregard the rights of others, yet they are rarely held accountable for their own criminal acts. The numerous videos of innocent people being shot by cops that've surfaced in the last several years demonstrate the problems in police departments.

Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces is good further reading on these topics. So is Three Felonies a Day. Almost no one is safe—not even victims.

Meant to out a link.... https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577

I would also highly recommend Radley Balko's deep dive into this very issue:
Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces https://www.amazon.com/dp/1610394577/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_S6kPzbMMRCNJM
It's a great read.

More than once on this sub, I've cited the book Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police. It's a bit lengthy, and covers the historical foundation of the Bill of Rights (great read if you're an American history student).

But the real takeaway is that SWAT teams bring their own exigency with them. "Exigency" is just a fancy word for urgent and unexpected circumstances that allow SWAT teams to improvise and shoot dogs and kick in doors and operate without a judge's oversight. But the book makes a compelling argument that SWAT teams create exigency, they create violence where none existed before, they create dangerous situations where none existed before.

What if there are hostages inside a bank during a botched robbery? Sure, send in SWAT. But a house where no one is in any danger? Or a house where no one is threatening anyone? Hey, what if someone is suspected of cock fighting? Just have a celebrity drive a SWAT tank into their house. WCGW?

Feel free to find a recent video of a German police stop that went anything like that.

Meanwhile, I can find about three hundred US stops that went like that.

It's not the gun ownership or the armed populace. It's the Rise of the Warrior Cop.

>He acts like he’s invading Fallujah every time he does a traffic stop. He has a notorious reputation.

This behavior seems to be increasing dramatically over the past few decades, and the trend shows no sign of slowing down.

>[Citation needed.] That sounds like a huge generalization, across a country with hundreds, if not thousands of diverse departments.

http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577

>Honor for whom? De Blasio, with his anti-police rhetoric and white guilt appeasement, has thrown police under the bus and blames them for actions outside of polices' control.

Honor for the the democratically elected civilian official who oversees them. I don't give a fuck what you think of Obama, but a soldier should not turn his back on the President of the United States. We're a republic, not a junta.

Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces by Radley Balko may be interesting reading for you.

OK, look, I must come clean with you:

While I was writing the comment to which you replied, I was sort of psychomagnetically attracted to writing American-style, leaving only that one giveaway "calibre" to hint that I actually am... Australian.

I'm obviously not going to start the Internet's ten-zillionth pointless gun-control argument here, we'd both be better off jamming our thumbs in our eyes... but, for further full-disclosure, I have previously said, while appearing sincere, "Look, you've got to respect their culture. Americans just love shooting each other!" :-)

Right.

Down here, normal Australian cops all have pistols.

But if one of our cops shoots someone, and the shot-person dies, then that will be front-page news nationwide. (Probably even if everyone's still alive.)

Meanwhile in the USA, most, but not all, police departments will disclose how many people their officers have shot in the last year.

I can totally see how better firearms are just better tools for police. I mean, the basic Glock-pistol concept is that it's an automatic that handles like a revolver but is even safer and has more ammo, right? OK, no problem. Or, at least, no new problem. Replacing a cop's truncheon with an expandable baton similarly just gives that cop a handier thing to whack people with, not (generally...) a higher inclination to whack them.

But... a semi-auto 5.56?! Just generally sitting around, for whoever's assigned to this car tonight? In case that weapon seems... necessary?

Are we certain that the threat we're giving these guys a "black gun" to fight is more probable that the chance that a flesh-covered robot from the future will will recover one of the AR-15s and use it to extinguish the progenitors of the human race?

Sorry. No actual argument intended.

This just looks like a big quivering pile of mall-ninjas to me. Yes, police have to deal with incredible bullshit (even super-corrupt police probably have to!), and if I were a cop I'd probably fantasise about just mowing all of those fuckin' morons down with a crew-served weapon which besides me is served by Playboy Bunnies. But I'd still have three-fifths of bugger-all chance of ever being better off, actually, because I carried a pistol and AR-whatever, versus carrying a pistol and a juice box.

I think Radley Balko has his shit together regarding this, but I'm not certain.

And why is that, you don't think it's a thing? You think people can just write bestselling books about the phenomenon using a lot of hot air? I admit some parts of the book are so over the top I have a hard time believing them myself:

> In all, thirteen California counties were invaded by choppers, some of them blaring Wagner’s "Ride of the Valkyries" as they dropped Guardsmen and law enforcement officers armed with automatic weapons, sandviks, and machetes into the fields of California.

But then I read articles like this one published today all about the overuse of flashbangs by police. One of the vignettes was about a lady who got no-knock raided for selling "a plate of food and six cans of beer without a license." Sounds like a good use of deadly force, a SWAT team and taxpayer dollars to me. /s And of course the article repeated that sickening story about the baby who was badly maimed - almost died - from a flashbang going off in its crib during a raid where the perp wasn't even there. Little guy had to be put in a medically-induced coma for over a month, has already racked up over $1M in medical bills, and will have to have reconstructive surgery every 2 years until he turns 20.

Of course those are just a couple anecdotes. Look into the stats for yourself on the rise and overuse of SWAT units and no-knock raids and see that its a systemic problem. Fact is there is a sizable segment of modern police who like to dress up and play soldier, and the federal gov't subsidizing surplus weapons of war does not help the situation.

> Do you have a counterpoint example of "thoughtful social justice advocacy" to help me understand the movement better?

No, I really don't. I don't think I understand the movement myself. That's why I find it plausible that there may be stronger arguments for it that we're all missing.

I may take Nathan up on his offer and read one of those books. Eventually. I've been reading too much nonfiction lately, I'm due for a break. :)

But for a very grey-tribe friendly book that does touch on some social justice issues, check out https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577. I liked that book a lot when I read it. However, it's not really a leftist perspective (like, at all.)

Anyone looking to learn more about the militiarization of our police forces in the United States should consider reading Rise of the Warrior Cop by Radley Balko. Fargo does get mentioned a couple of times.

http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577/

Title refers to the famous book of the same name:

https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577

Non-mobile: Rise of the Warrior Cop

^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?

I love me some Radley Balko. I highly recommend his book.

The militarization of the police force in the United States has been an ongoing issue for years, not really sure how you can pin that on Trump. If you are curious, Radley Balko released a book about this in 2014 (Amazon).

Ever read the book, "Rise of the Warrior Cop" by Radley Balko?


It is a good book to read. I recommened it.
Rise of the Warrior Cop

You guys got a nice back-and-forth going here, but I'd just like to interject with a book recommendation on the history of police: Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces by Radley Balko (https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577).

It's a well researched and footnoted book - the author explains that police as we know them are a surprisingly recent development. Mostly affirming the info in the links shared by u/Gilgong0. What I found interesting is 1) we as people only started having police when people started living close to strangers in larger cities (because before that your family and church members just shamed you and/or physically dealt with you if needed) and 2) there is not technically a constitutional basis for police (but no one is making a serious argument they shouldn't exist)

Radley Balko summed it up:

Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces

There is a study out there somewhere, I’ll try and find it and link it, which shows the cops are generally reluctant to actually use SWAT against armed or aggressive persons but prefer to wait them out. Rather SWAT is disproportionately used when it is an established fact that the target is likely to offer minimal resistance.

*Edit - I couldn’t find the original source I used in my paper years ago but it is referenced in this book which admittedly isn’t the most balanced source.

> How the fuck is it okay for police to go in there with assault rifles and treating them like that? Even if it were weed, that shouldn't be acceptable...

After 2001, the military got a shitload of hardware. Now that the "war on terror" is dialing down, they need to get rid of this hardware. Through a government program, local police departments are able to procure military hardware at discount.

This means that small towns, who would normally have nothing but blue uniformed patrolmen walking the streets, are suddenly able to get MRAPs, military style uniforms, armor, and weapons.

And, as the old adage goes, When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

If they have an armored personnel carrier sitting in their bay, they're going to want an excuse to use it. What's a better reason than "Fighting the War on Drugs," am I right? So, all the cop guys who play Modern Warfare in their off-hours suddenly get to armor up, grab an automatic rifle, and do it for real. How fun is that, right?

It's becoming more and more difficult to distinguish between police and military.

For more reading, check out this book.

You guys should read this Radley Balko book from 2013.

Use of SWAT for situations that don't require it, and are a mere excuse to keep the 'team'? Balko wrote a book about exactly that.

I recently started reading Radley Balko's "Rise of the warrior cop". If you haven't read it yet I really suggest it: https://www.amazon.ca/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577

It's a really in-depth look at how our Police forces became so Militarized over the last few decades.
I think head shots at protestors is a garbage move on their part, even if it is their training. that just bullying mentality paired with firepower.

Check out the book "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces" by Radley Balko. The no-knock raid is a HUGE departure from how warrants have been served for hundreds of years. In fact, the British used similar tactics briefly and it was seen as such an infringement on rights that it was cited as a cause for the American Revolution.
https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577

I think that's why the USA is a police state instead of totalitarian utopia in that metaphor.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/06/30/does-military-equipment-lead-police-officers-to-be-more-violent-we-did-the-research/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.515653ac2481

https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/police-militarization-fails-to-protect-officers-and-targets-black-communities-study-finds

You really need to read some history and educate yourself on the realities of militarized policing and the treatment of black Americans.

Here are some suggestions where you can get started:

https://www.amazon.com/Slavery-Another-Name-Re-Enslavement-Americans/dp/0385722702

https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577

https://www.amazon.com/New-Jim-Crow-Incarceration-Colorblindness/dp/1595586431/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=37DDCSH6HQ7WTMAV25ZF

There is a novel Rise of the Warrior Cop
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1610394577/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_Sf0gAbD5F595C

We are living a trend of police militarization. Here's a good popular book about it.

Highly recommend

in that case, http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577

They haven't. At least one that got a lot of attention was a no-knock warranty (which I'm strongly against) on a former military man who was growing (and selling?) marijuana. I believe an officer was shot and killed in that exchange, as well as the man who the warrant was served against. Frankly, I think that story is better suited to this sub than this one.

As a result this bill has been put forward to curb no knock warrants. I don't think no-knock warrants should exist, and that existing "knock" warrants should have restrictions put in place to ensure they stop looking more and more like no-knock warrants.

Over militarization of police is a valid concern that should be addressed, but I don't think Dillon's story is a good example of it. Radley Balko addresses the problem well. It's not a simple problem and there are a lot of parts to it.

> No cop is going to look at me and go, "What a beautiful woman! Let's give her a pass!"

lol, it is amusing (and telling) that you believe attractiveness is the only the only factor.

>The fact is, most people who have a problem with cops when they are doing their jobs (or just existing) are fucking entitled idiots.

I have a problem with cops because I am ethically opposed to the Use of Violence in the enforcement of 99% of the laws on the books

Things like the War on Drugs where police murder people because they happen to have unapproved plant material in their possession. I am a life long Libertarian, I believe in personal liberty, and the Philosophy of Liberty.

I have followed, researched and studied police abuse and the Militarization of police for nearly 17 years

There is a SYSTEMIC problem in policing, it is not "a few bad apples" it is a SYSTEMIC issue, the comes as a direct result of the War on Drugs, and "Tough on Crime" bullshit coupled with Federal programs that give Law Enforcement tools of war to be used on the Streets on US Cities.

The Modern Police force today is nearly indistinguishable from a Paramilitary Organization.

Good for you that your Damsel in Distress routine has allowed you to get assistance from a Warrior Cop with out being Victimized, Shall I start posting links to all the abuse victims that were not as lucky?

Do you want to talk to the parents of the Infant that had his face blown off by a cop that literally tossed an explosive device in the infants crib? Was that just a "bad apple", the police dept did not think so because he is still on the job with no punishment at all

I am sure that baby was violating some law the warranted that violence to be visited upon him

I invite you to Read

Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces

or visit /r/Bad_Cop_No_Donut

There is an incredibly good book that answers that question and gives a full background on the reasoning. It's called Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces. I highly recommend it.

I don't believe that incarcerating people as we do actually achieves a safer or better society. I think the war on drugs is a costly sham that infringes on everyone's ability to live in a free country. White lawbreakers, especially drug users, get away with more in my experience than do nonwhites. These are the three arguments that rang true for me in her book, despite blathering on for pages and pages about details that I have no way to verify the truth of, like federal sentencing laws about powdered cocaine versus crack.

We lock up so many damn people. It's not because US people are born more criminal than people elsewhere, I don't think. Something about the "land of the free" having the highest per-capita incarceration rate in the world is fucked up: I'm pretty sure you and I would come to an agreement about that, even if nothing else.

What did you think of Rise of the Warrior Cop, which came out at about the same time?

It's true, you can find wiki articles cataloguing hundreds, perhaps thousands of officer-involve shootings.

Radley Balko has written a few books on this subject, they're worth checking out: http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1411913115&sr=1-1-catcorr

Without revealing too much, I have had a death in my family as a result of such an incident...

https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577

you read this?

I'd be okay with it being banned, but I wouldn't really support it.

Banning something that's not really a problem goes against my personal views. It's like banning assault weapons to stop gun crime, in spite of the fact that killings involving rifles are less than 1% of gun crime. Just stupid feel-good legislation that doesn't do anything to actually combat the problem.

But I'm all for police being on (mostly) the same ground as your average citizen. Much like they are in Britain. Sure, they've got a bunch of buddies, radios, and high-viz vests, but you're not seeing British police shoot black kids all day for wearing a hoodie.

And it really goes back to a mindset. Police in America are in this stupid war-on-cops mindset that they're going to be shot at sometime during their service and need to be on the lookout all the time for the lone gunman who's going to shoot them. That's a completely false narrative that leads to thousands of needless civilian casualties every year. More police die on-the-job of heart attacks and traffic accidents than of violence.

If you ever get bored, this is a pretty good read. Really opens your eyes to what police are nowadays, versus what they're intended to be.

"police have a financial incentive to focus on drugs. Federal grant programs, such as the Edward J. Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program, reward local and state police for the number of people they arrest."

http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/thousands-rapists-are-not-behind-bars-because-cops-focus-marijuana-users


You are severely misinformed. You are citing anecdotal evidence from 'court in a big city.' AND the statistics you provided only show one crime, the problem is much larger, as I said.

Pick up a copy of this book from conservative writer Radley Balko and you will quickly change your stance. I promise.

http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/21/verbal-judo-police-shootings-deescalation-communication

Also: https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577

I was offering the link simply as a means to link to the text itself; and not as an endorsement of the reviews on GoodReads (which I know nothing of their authenticity)

I prefer to read books myself rather than leave it to someone else to decide for me if I ought to read a book or what opinion I ought to have on a particular book

If you prefer I different link to the text that you may find more palatable (or not)
https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577

You can read much more of the formation of the first swat teams in Radley Balko's "Rise of the Warrior Cop". Highly suggested reading.

https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610394577/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494734957&sr=8-1&keywords=rise+of+the+warrior+cop

>You're referring to civil forfeiture of crime-related assets. That can only happen when a crime has occurred.

Rather than catalogue the hundreds of thousands of times assets have been seized and forfeited on mere suspicion of connection to drug activity, I'll just refer you to these articles and one Radley Balko who has made his living, in part, by detailing the massive amounts of money stolen through civil asset forfeiture.

Balko began writing on forfeiture when he worked at Reason, continued when he moved to HuffPo, and wrote a little book on why, exactly, it is in the best interest of police departments to steal, via civil asset forfeiture. You might have heard of it...it's gotten massive international attention for the last year or so.

tl;dr: Anyone who thinks civil asset forfeiture can only happen when a crime occurs has been living under a rock for the last 50 years.