Our Militarized Society

[BigV]

Cheers!

[Big Sarge]

oh well. i guess you did see i'm not the person you think. yes, it was janet reno presenting the award for my law enforcement using the broken window

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Attorn......-a063861539

at least this is something light hearted

http://www.policemag.com/channel/pat...e-beat.aspxhis

[DanaC]

Oh dear.

A police officer involved in the protests over Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Missouri, has been relieved of his duty after video surfaced of him describing black people as “little perverts” and Barack Obama as an illegal immigrant.

Dan Page – who was seen live on CNN earlier this week threatening to arrest the network’s anchor Don Lemon – was recorded in April giving a speech in which he railed against Muslims and gay people, saying: “I’m into diversity – I kill everybody.”

Page is the second St Louis county officer to have been stood down in controversial circumstances surrounding the Ferguson protests. Lieutenant Ray Albers was suspended on Wednesday after video emerged of him pointing his assault weapon at protestors and threatening to kill them.
In his speech, Page, who claims to have been a sergeant major in the US army and a Vietnam war veteran, sharply criticised laws intended to protect minorities from racially-motivated hatred and to help increase ethnic diversity.


Citing the US declaration of independence’s statement that “all men are created equal,” he said: “That does not mean affirmative action. It means we’re all equal … God does not respect persons so we have no business passing hate crime laws.”

“This here”, he added, brandishing a copy of the Bible, “is the foundation for this”, meaning the declaration of independence. “You can’t separate them. I don’t know what them black little perverts don’t understand down there.”

-snip-

At one point during a slideshow of his past travels, Page displayed a photograph of himself in Kenya. “I said I wanna go find where that illegal alien claiming to be my president, my undocumented president, lives at.” He has previously said in interviews that he retired from the army because of Obama.

snip-

Later in his remarks, Page told a questioner in the audience: “Policemen are very cynical. I know I am. I don’t trust anybody. I hate everybody. I hate y’all, too. I hate everybody. I’m into diversity – I kill everybody. I don’t care.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...guson-dan-page

[elSicomoro]

He is one of...three, I think...that have been relieved of duty due to comments about or actions involving Ferguson.

[DanaC]

Those remarks were made in April I think. So, that was his attitude before the Ferguson thing kicked off.

[Big Sarge]

It was prior to Ferguson. If you listen to the whole speech and look at his background (9 combat tours), you will quickly see that he has issues and has developed paranoia about the government. He needs help and he needs to retire from the PD or go into a strictly administrative role. He is definitely us against them.

[Big Sarge]

Well guys, it looks like I might have been wrong. A new audio tape has surfaced showing a 3 second break in the firing sequence. I guess I might need to get back on the fence and not be blinded by emotion for the officer. Fundraising for the officer unbelievable through gofundme.com The first round raised $234,910.00 in a week. A second fundraiser is underway with over $130,000.00. Don't forget he is still receiving his salary.

He might get 10 years for violating the Brown's civil rights, but at the rate it is going he will walk out quite wealthy.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by Big Sarge

The first round raised $234,910.00 in a week. A second fundraiser is underway with over $130,000.00.

Wow, that's a lot of racists!

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Big Sarge

Well guys, it looks like I might have been wrong. A new audio tape has surfaced showing a 3 second break in the firing sequence. I guess I might need to get back on the fence and not be blinded by emotion for the officer.

Even if he's a raving racist, the system in that town that existed before him, funneled him into the fear and loathing which sparked his actions. Nobody wins.

[DanaC]

School police departments across the country have taken advantage of free military surplus gear, stocking up on mine resistant armored vehicles, grenade launchers and scores of M16 rifles.
At least 26 school districts have participated in the Pentagon's surplus program, which is not new but has come under scrutiny after police responded to protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, last month with tear gas, armored military trucks and riot gear.

Now, amid that increased criticism, several school districts say they'll give some of the equipment back, while others plan to keep the rifles they received. Nearly two dozen education and civil liberties groups sent a letter earlier this week to the Pentagon and the Justice and Education departments urging a stop to transfers of military weapons to school police.

The Los Angeles Unified School District ” the nation's second largest school district covering 710 square miles and enrolling more than 900,000 students ” said it would remove three grenade launchers it had acquired because they "are not essential life-saving items within the scope, duties and mission" of the district's police force.

But the district plans to keep the 60 M16s and a military vehicle known as an MRAP used in Iraq and Afghanistan that was built to withstand mine blasts.

District police Chief Steve Zipperman told The Associated Press that the M16s are used for training, and the MRAP, which is parked off campus, was acquired because the district could not afford to buy armored vehicles that might be used to protect officers and help students in a school shooting.

"That vehicle is used in very extraordinary circumstances involving a life-saving situation for an armed threat," Zipperman said. "Quite frankly I hope we never have to deploy it."

http://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/11546318

[sexobon]

Dani, grenade launchers attach to the underside of M16 rifles. They can fire a variety of rounds including tear gas. They're best suited for the delivery of tear gas in urban riot control situations. Riot control police within range of delivering hand thrown tear gas canisters to a rioting crowd are also within range of that crowd to be stoned; or, burned with Molotov cocktails. When the Los Angeles Unified School District said it would remove three grenade launchers it had acquired because they "are not essential life-saving items within the scope, duties and mission" of the district's police force, they simply acknowledged that the school police are not going into the riot control business which will rest elsewhere. The capability will still exist, just with another organization. Believe it or not, in this day of modern weaponry, people are still being stoned to death by crowds:

CONAKRY, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Eight bodies, including those of three journalists, were found after an attack on a team trying to educate locals on the risks of the Ebola virus in a remote area of southeastern Guinea, a government spokesman said on Thursday. ...

.. Fofana said the team that included local administrators, two medical officers, a preacher and three accompanying journalists, was attacked by a hostile stone-throwing crowd from the village when they tried to inform people about Ebola. ...

[DanaC]

They can fire a variety of rounds including tear gas.

I did not know that. Thanks, that makes much more sense than police (and school police) forces having actual grenades to fire at the crowd:P

[xoxoxoBruce]

But they didn't have tear gas, in fact they had nothing they could fire from those launchers. I'm betting there was no planned strategy, they just took them because they were available and free.

[sexobon]

They were probably just waiting for some CS rounds to become available - FREE. You don't pass up the opportunity to acquire a capability just because you have to do it piecemeal instead of all at one time: you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. There are also sub-caliber adapters available for grenade launchers that allow firing 12 gauge shotgun shells (for those who like to salt their meat) to compliment what the rifle fires without having to carry a second long arm. Not my cup of tea; but, if it's free ...

[xoxoxoBruce]

Yeah, I think there is a lot of agencies, police, school, local governments,that have said oooh pretty, when free stuff is offered. Instead they should be saying what do we need, how would we use that, how would we train our people to use that, how does that fit in our planned responses, etc?