Former Marine Paul Szoldra warns that events in #Ferguson, Missouri illustrate the “terrifying” result of the militarization of #police, with the American people now being treated like insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq Szoldra questions why police in Ferguson are wearing combat gear such as desert camouflage which is normally reserved for troops fighting in foreign #war zones. “We looked intimidating, but all of our vehicles and equipment had a clear purpose for combat against enemy forces. So why is this same gear being used on our city streets?” , “When did this become OK?” The former Marine notes how police in Ferguson are armed with #military-style rifles with scopes as well as body armor. “Their uniform would be mistaken for a soldier’s if it weren’t for their “Police” patches,” writes Szoldra. “They wear green tops, and pants fashioned after the U.S. Marine Corps MARPAT camouflage pattern. And they stand in front of a massive armored truck called a #Bearcat, similar in look to a mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle, or as the troops who rode in them call it, the #MRAP.” Szoldra cites conversations he had with other former military personnel who pointed out that some of the police in Ferguson are more heavily armed than U.S. troops in an “actual warzone.”
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 05:27:28 +0000
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