Militarization of Civilian Police

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Gregory Ray Professor Melissa Holton English 1301 Composition I 24 March 2015 Militarization of the Civilian Police Force in America The overreach and the excessive use of force accusation of police is not by any stretch of the imagination a new issue in America. “Police Brutality” was the catch phrase for police overreach heard throughout the 60s, from Kent State to the Democratic Convention and beyond. The casual observer it might get the impression that little has changed in the half century between then and now; in light of the events in Ferguson, Missouri with the fatal police shooting of the unarmed African-American teenagers Mike Brown and the chocking to death of Eric Garner, and the blatant overreach, excessive use of force and thuggish response to ensuing community protests from a police force that resembles an occupying army. They would be wrong to think so. These events have shocked the U.S. liberal media and millions of Americans, both liberal and conservatives alike, but as alarming as these things are, and as disturbing as the ongoing use of excessive force is, there has been an alarming change. That change being the militarization of America’s police forces. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to expose and sensitize the reader to and help them make sense of current trends in the police institution, the causes and effects of the increasing military tactics and weapon and how incidents of violent overreach are the only logical conclusion to a police force who views and conduct itself more like an occupying army then a civilian protectorate or defenders of the population, but most importantly to understand the dangers of the increased use of military weaponry and tactics used by civilian police forces against its citizens. Determining whether a civilian police force is becoming ‘militarized’ should not be viewed as antipolice. It should be

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