{"id":1653,"date":"2014-09-07T21:01:15","date_gmt":"2014-09-08T01:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/?p=1653"},"modified":"2014-09-08T11:52:02","modified_gmt":"2014-09-08T15:52:02","slug":"our-police-warriors-or-guardians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/1653","title":{"rendered":"Our Police – Warriors or Guardians?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"img<\/a>\u201cProtect and Serve\u201d-\u201cPride, Integrity & Commitment\u201d-\u201cService above self\u201d-\u201cSafety & Service\u201d-\u201cIn partnership with the Community\u201d \u2013 These are all slogans on the side of various Police cruisers. With the events in Ferguson, MO; the question comes up \u2013 Have the Police forces in the United States become too militarized?\u00a0 I have real mixed feelings on this, I don\u2019t think it is as clear cut as many would make it out to be.<\/p>\n

I have a couple of friends (yes, I really do have a couple!!) that serve in law enforcement. I would like to take this moment to stress to everyone that I believe very strongly<\/em> that those in civil service rightfully have an expectation that everything will be done to ensure they make it home safely to their family at the end of their shift.<\/p>\n

So, what do you think of when you see a policeman?\u00a0 Do you see a person that is there to protect and serve the public, or do you see something else? \u00a0I\u2019m not saying every policeman should be like Andy Taylor or Barney Fife in Mayberry; but I think there has been an excessive increase in the amount of violent police activity over the past couple of decades.<\/p>\n

The increase in SWAT style raids is troublesome.\u00a0 These style raids were once only deemed necessary in the most<\/strong> extreme of circumstances. But now seem to be more common, especially in urban communities. How many of these SWAT raids have been botched, whether by bad intelligence or what have you?\u00a0 Take a look at this interactive map<\/a> from the CATO Institute. There are only three (3) states that have not had botched SWAT Raids (The great state of ND is one of them).<\/p>\n

SWAT and \u201cSpecial Action\u201d raids have become far to commonplace.\u00a0 Prior to the 1980s, the use of SWAT and other paramilitary units were only used in volatile, high-risk raids.\u00a0 The primary types would be bank robberies, hostage situations or drug raids with known militaristic gangs.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think part of the problem is the ease of the proliferation of military equipment from the Pentagon.\u00a0 While we must remember the North Hollywood shoot-out<\/a> that happened between LA Police and two bank robbers on 28 February, 1997.\u00a0 Both robbers died trying to escape with $300K. 11 Police Officers and 8 civilians were injured during the 44 minute shootout.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as I saw that guy [a responding SWAT officer], I knew everything would be OK.\u201d Sgt. Larry Haynes said about the North Hollywood shoot-out.\u00a0 This is what SWAT is intended for \u2013 response to volatile, high-risk situations.<\/p>\n

Speaking of tactics, an article about the top 5 most influential gunfights<\/a> that changed law enforcement is a good read.\u00a0 I think I got more out of the comments section of this article.\u00a0 This warrior mentality has its place in law enforcement.\u00a0 However; this type of mentality can also bite your butt if you let it.\u00a0 Poor investigation, too much reliance upon shady (at best) informants, and a citizen\u2019s inherent right to defend themselves can lead to disaster.<\/p>\n

A couple of good examples include a local gentlemen<\/a> from Chesapeake, VA.\u00a0 This young man had had a SWAT style raid on his house (“no-knock” warrant).\u00a0 He did not hear the Police announce themselves and was startled awake thinking he was being robbed; he shot at, and killed, a Policeman.\u00a0 This particular raid was for drugs, specifically Marijuana production.\u00a0 No significant amount was found.\u00a0 I\u2019m not here to declare his innocence nor his guilt.\u00a0 I am here to ask why?\u00a0 Why was a SWAT style raid used when this gentleman had no history of violence, the detectives could easily have picked him up for questioning on his way to work.\u00a0 There was absolutely no need for the heavy handed raid (needlessly putting multiple people into a volatile situation) that took place.\u00a0 As a result two lives were ruined, and their families scarred. For what? \u00a0\u00a0Sad.<\/p>\n

Another senseless death occurred in North Carolina; where a Police Officer mistook the sound of the battering ram as a gunshot; fired and killed an unarmed man while he was answering the door.\u00a0 I believe the police raided the wrong house.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the weapons by themselves that are bad.\u00a0 I think there is a place in most police departments for military grade equipment that the citizenry does not possess.\u00a0 While Fargo, ND\u2019s possession of a mine resistant armored<\/a> vehicle may be a bit overkill, it does have its purpose (it\u2019s has yet to be used in its intended function). I think also that it is ok for college campuses<\/a> to have rifles and armored vests, albeit in small numbers.\u00a0 They should be locked up, out of view, until needed \u2013 but a case can be made for the schools to possess them.\u00a0 Just ask VCU. As advocates of the 2nd<\/sup> Amendment love to state, \u201cguns don\u2019t kill people, people kill people.\u201d\u00a0 I think the basic problem is one of communication and training. All people act in the manner they are comfortable with.\u00a0 In time of stress; you don\u2019t think \u2013 you act.\u00a0 If all of your training is militaristic, you\u2019ll respond in a heavy handed way.<\/p>\n

I think we can all agree that the military training model doesn\u2019t fit well with the skills required by the police in America.\u00a0 In Washington state, the executive director of the state\u2019s Police Academy<\/a> has taken the position that there needs to be a decrease the amount of military type training, and increase an officer\u2019s soft skills; critical thinking, learning how to initiate a conversation, and how to continue showing respect while enforcing the laws. \u00a0Police Officers, according to Officer Russ Hicks, need to go back to our foundation of treating people with dignity and respect and giving people their Constitutional rights.<\/em>\u00a0 They also need to, not begrudgingly, but wholeheartedly embrace their constitutional role.\u00a0 The Seattle Times<\/a> did a good write up on her new training program. In The Dispatcher<\/a>, the Criminal Justice Training Commission for Washington State had a good write up also, which goes further in-depth into why she made the changes she did.<\/p>\n

Mr. David Couper runs the website www.improvingpolice.wordpress.com<\/a>.\u00a0 What are his qualifications to merit his input?\u00a0 He has been (and since retired) a Police Officer and Police Chief in the state of Minnesota.\u00a0 He makes the connection between why the Police are here — to aid us, the citizens, in honoring our part of the social contract<\/em><\/span>. Until this moment, I had never considered where the Police fell in\u00a0the social contract – his statement hit home with me, as citizens, we not only have rights-<\/span> we have responsibilities<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em>. He is co-author of the petition:\u00a0Policing our Nation<\/a>, which is a good read and sheds light on what 12 actionable qualities of a free and democratic police force.\u00a0 He has advocated for years on shifting the focus away from the military \u201cstress model\u201d instead of community policing.\u00a0 Some of his writings include \u201cIt\u2019s Time to Change Police Training<\/a>\u201d and \u201cA Better Way to Train<\/a>\u201d (I encourage you also to read the additional articles and comments), in which he discusses Washington States decision.\u00a0 In his article \u201cLet\u2019s Here It Once More<\/a>..\u201d where he discusses the importance of training.<\/p>\n

There is an interesting article<\/a> written by Jack Kerwick.\u00a0 In the article, Mr. Kerwick suggests we (as a culture) are making the wrong assumptions.\u00a0 Our society is armed, why wouldn\u2019t the police be?\u00a0 \u00a0My issue with his article is not that the police are armed, but how they are utilizing their responses to situations in a more militaristic fashion- not the disarming, quiet policeman of ages ago.\u00a0 User RaulYbarra responded to the article with the comment: \u201cIn much of my world travels, the police really are a para-military organization. They often have a power and authority that goes far beyond anything that would be acceptable here in the U.S. In contrast, American police are \u2013 or should be<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 the most direct reflection of the concept of government with the consent of the governed most citizens will encounter.\u201d\u00a0 I simply cannot say it any better than that.<\/p>\n

I think Mr. Couper, Ms Rahr, and the State of Washington are on point.\u00a0 I hope more states take the approach that the State of Washington is. I would like to see more of the \u201cGuardian\u201d spirit plugged into the new police recruits, I\u2019d rather have a smart, thinking police officer on the streets than a person who has been trained as a warrior. When an officer responds and assesses the situation, calls for assistance – then, by all means, if the situation dictates; send in the cavalry [SWAT]. \u00a0But we should always default to solutions that lower the risk of volatility when possible.<\/p>\n

My conclusion: We have warriors in the Military, we need smart thinkers in the daily interactions between police and the community they have sworn to protect. Have our police forces become too militarized? \u00a0In equipment I say no, in mentality I say it depends on where you were trained. \u00a0I believe we have a serious training issue. \u00a0In the military we trained as we fight. \u00a0Our Police should also be highly<\/span> trained in soft skills.\u00a0 The SWAT style teams are like the special forces in the military- they should be used sparingly and only when [truly] required. What say you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cProtect and Serve\u201d-\u201cPride, Integrity & Commitment\u201d-\u201cService above self\u201d-\u201cSafety & Service\u201d-\u201cIn partnership with the Community\u201d \u2013 These are all slogans on the side of various Police cruisers. With the events in Ferguson, MO; the question comes up \u2013 Have the Police … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"kt_blocks_editor_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,8,16],"tags":[50,80,66,91,82,59],"class_list":["post-1653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-life","category-rants-raves","tag-america","tag-duty","tag-leadership","tag-responsibilities","tag-rights","tag-security"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2650,"url":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/2650","url_meta":{"origin":1653,"position":0},"title":"Cyber Security for the home user","author":"DR D","date":"January 16, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently I received an email from a readers board that I'm a member of; the site was hacked. \u00a0That sucks, now I have to around and change all my passwords again! \u00a0This coupled with all the news of the Russian hacking, I thought it might be a good time to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Computing"","block_context":{"text":"Computing","link":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/category\/computing"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/cyber-security-1721673_1280-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":928,"url":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/928","url_meta":{"origin":1653,"position":1},"title":"Time for an update….","author":"DR D","date":"April 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Good afternoon everyone, I've been looking to update the \"warez\" from my site, There are a couple of items I'd like to update, the coffee mug (right) and my business cards. \u00a0What I'm asking from you, my fellow readers is two fold, #1: do you like the cup design? #2:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"DDD\"","block_context":{"text":"DDD","link":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/tag\/ddd-2"},"img":{"alt_text":"DDD Mug idea 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DDD-Mug-idea-1-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15061,"url":"https:\/\/dansdigitaldive.com\/web\/archives\/15061","url_meta":{"origin":1653,"position":2},"title":"In-Decision 2024 \u2013 Presidential Election 2024","author":"DR D","date":"October 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, my cat was telling me to start writing again.\u00a0 So, to shut him up; I\u2019m stealing the name of a segment from the \u201cDaily Show,\u201d as I\u2019m sure you\u2019re aware, it sums up this year\u2019s election cycle quite nicely. 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