Bob Owens covers the NBC News story showing that Boston cops were over gunned and undertrained in the aftermath of the Boston Bombing. I think it’s very psychologically bad to make police feel separate from the civilian population they are actually a part of. The S in SWAT stands for “Special,” and I tend to think when you hand young men “special” weapons, without the rigor of military discipline to control those young men, you’re bound to get a lot of little napoleons and wannabes. When that same young man hears, “yeah, I have five of those” from his “civvie” shooting buddies upon presenting his shiny department issued AR, that perpetuates a culture where you’re nothing special, and where you might actually have a culture from which you can learn, and be more willing to learn. Massachusetts is a state that has endeavored to destroy that culture, and elevate its police to something very different from its civilian population.
You Have to Take the “Special” out of SWAT
The scary part for me was where the Police Commissioner talked about the care his police are expected to take when they are shooting in a neighborhood full of people.
“They see somebody shooting, so they fire at them. That’s their training.†-Ed Davis, the former Boston police commissioner
And the result, “More than a dozen officers suffered minor injuries during the mayhem, but none was believed to have been wounded by the suspects. The only serious wound was suffered by Richard Donohue, a transit cop with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, who was hit in the groin by a police bullet and began to bleed profusely.”
And then at the boat, “But one of the snipers on the roof saw the object and began shooting. It sparked a round of what is known as “contagious fire,†where other officers with their fingers on the trigger began peppering the boat with bullets.
The commander began shouting for the officers to cease fire, but the fusillade went on for 10 seconds. Hundreds of rounds were expended.”
By the way, the shot up boat was not replaced by the police or the guy’s insurance. A fund-raiser was held to pay for a replacment.
Maybe in this case “special” doesn’t mean what you think it means? ;-)
Oh they’re “special” alright… Half trained knuckleheads muzzling everything that moved.
This isn’t just a Mass. thing. Across the country, “peace officers” have been transformed into “law enforcement” and with it, an allegiance to The State, not the citizens, and placing their needs above the public.
Police violence is escalating across the country and the rise of the warrior cop is ever climbing.