The ninjafication of police
Don’t get me wrong, there is a need for SWAT teams and the like. My issue is that these teams are used too frequently and, many times, fatally. Sorry, but if a kid has an ounce of weed, the police should show up, knock on the door, and announce themselves. When there’s absolute proof of hostilities, that is a justification for such force. Regardless a look inside some of their training:
The dynamic entry was scheduled to start off with a bang. More accurately a flash bang grenade that will be lobbed in a broken-out window – a “breach and bang” – of the house on Polk Street. Along the sides of the front door of the house, five men in olive green uniforms, loaded down with equipment and faces hidden behind black balaclavas and military style helmets wait for the signal to go. The military-style CAR-15s and Glock 22 pistols in their hands are loaded and chambered for any trouble. They communicate with hand signals to avoid making noise.
BANG!
As the stun grenade goes off, the men in position yell, “Go, go, go!” The first man in the line slams a pry bar into the sturdy-looking front door to gain entry. From inside a voice yells, “Get away from my house.” The men are not swayed, almost ripping the door off its hinges within a few seconds. “Police, search warrant!!” is yelled. The occupant of the house, on the second floor, yells that he does not want to surrender, fearing he will be shot. The lead officer behind the mask talks to him and calms him down, eventually convincing the subject to surrender.
September 28th, 2006 at 10:38 am
Why should police departments have these units AT ALL? They never run up against a credible threat. Since that’s the case they are used against non-violent, non-hostage, non-dangerous situations. They infect the rest of their police depts with this kind of violent culture. You could cut 98% of all SWAT units and Constitutional Government and the Citizenry would be safer…but oh yeah…the POLICE wouldn’t have as much FUN.
September 28th, 2006 at 10:54 am
I think it looks cool on Cops to see this happen, but, in reality, I’m afraid we’re telling our police departments across the country that it’s “okay” to dress up like SAS commandos and kick in doors as a first resort to anything.
I don’t really blame the police for adopting and embracing such a tactic. I mean, I’d always feel safer throwing in a grenade and breaking down a door with 10 or 20 other guys wearing body armor and brandishing fully automatic weapons. Hey, that’s a pretty secure method of entering a house. I can’t fault them for wanting to take the safest way in.
I fault the leadership and administration for throwing up their hands and white-washing everything under the “officer safety” and “who cares about a bunch of criminals” banner.
What happens when the police get the wrong house? What happens when the police shoot the wrong people? What happens when a flahsbang goes off and injures an innocent person? What happens when they break down the wrong door and the homeowner has access to serious weaponry?
Even worse . . . what happens when some “bad guys” get black pajamas, some flashbangs, and decide to do home break-ins by screaming “SEARCH WARRANT!”
Hmmmm . . . question: Courts have ruled that all police have to do is yell they are the police and declare “SEARCH WARRANT!”, and that’s enough to signal a citizen to comply. What happens if someone screams that breaking into a house in order to rob it, and they get shot. The citizen didn’t KNOW they weren’t the police when they shot him. By court findings, they should have assumed they WERE the police. Has the citizen committed a crime? Maybe . . .
Shooting a dead body generally isn’t a crime. However, shooting a dead body you THOUGHT was alive is attempted murder. Any similarities?
Comical, but scary all at the same time.
September 28th, 2006 at 12:09 pm
… and he is probably right.
… showing that the SWAT team wasn’t necessary to start with. He would have surrendered to, say, an officer knocking on the front door and saying, “c’mon out.” (With another uniformed officer watching the backdoor. Like they did 200 years ago on Dragnet.)
September 28th, 2006 at 12:51 pm
They justify using SWAT-type teams on drug raids by saying they’re going in that way to prevent “destruction of evidence”, ie flushing the dope down the toilet.
My question is, how hard is it to watch to house, wait til the guy leaves, detain him as soon as he does, and then search the place?
And I’m an Infantryman-I’m supposed to be predisposed to blasting everything in sight, violence of action and all that.
I wonder how much effect a flash bang has if you’re not in the same room when it goes off? In this case it sounds like it wasn’t very useful-the ‘suspect’ was upstairs, and the SWATters were presumably on the ground floor. Just making a lot of unnecessary noise and causing unneeded property damage.
September 28th, 2006 at 1:46 pm
Years ago in my home state some guy bought one of those inert training grenades. He was amusing himself by tossing it up and catching it, and he was seen doing so as he pulled into a local strip joint. I was on my lunch break, headed to the taco hut next door (honest!) I never got near the place. The police stopped traffic on route 1 for about a half a mile, diverting traffic onto the side roads for several hours. It didn’t matter that they had the guy there, telling them the straight story, or that they were screwing traffic around College Park needlessly, what really mattered was that they had a chance to justify the expense of a wizz-bang remote bomb disposal robot. And that’s exactly what they did, the hell with everyone else.
I have the impression that the same thing happens with the ninja-stormtroopers. It’s the same thing with every other bureaucracy — justify your existence or have your budget cut.
Ideally, we want to save the ninjas for when you have the ex-mayor holding hostages at gunpoint, demanding his old job back and a 6000 SUX.
September 28th, 2006 at 5:53 pm
There are reasons they hide their faces. Shame and fear of retribution. They won’t admit to the shame because they are too much like middle schoolers and don’t dare risk not being “cool”. They fear retribution and hide their faces because they are just no damn good on their own. They must have a gang with them before their testosterone kicks in. How tacky is that?
September 29th, 2006 at 12:43 am
What a bunch of whiners.
These posters sounds like people who’ll eventually be the recipient of a business call by the police.
Get a job getting shot at for a living, and some of the tactics will start to make sense.
I now return you to your hurt feelings and armchair quarterbacking.
September 29th, 2006 at 7:34 am
Hmmmm . . . you know, I always thought the police were paid to keep ME safe. I didn’t realize that I had to sacrifice MY safety for them.
I really don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to work there, Whatever.
And by the way, I REALLY hope you’re not a cop. Really hope.
September 30th, 2006 at 12:48 am
Whatever, I have spent my entire working life in pursuits provably more dangerous and deadly than police work, and I didn’t need a damn gang to back me up, either. Go cry where you’ll fit in. I suggest a cop bar.