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Rand Paul: We Must Demilitarize the Police
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Rand Paul
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Aug 14, 2014 4:26 PM CUT
Police in riot gear watch protesters in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014.
Police in riot gear watch protesters in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014.Jeff Roberson—AP
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Rand Paul
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Aug 14, 2014 4:26 PM CUT
The shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown is an awful tragedy that continues to send shockwaves through the community of Ferguson, Missouri and across the nation.
If I had been told to get out of the street as a teenager, there would have been a distinct possibility that I might have smarted off. But, I wouldn’t have expected to be shot.
The outrage in Ferguson is understandable—though there is never an excuse for rioting or looting. There is a legitimate role for the police to keep the peace, but there should be a difference between a police response and a military response.
The images and scenes we continue to see in Ferguson resemble war more than traditional police action.
Glenn Reynolds, in Popular Mechanics, recognized the increasing militarization of the police five years ago. In 2009 he wrote:
“”
The Cato Institute’s Walter Olson observed this week how the rising militarization of law enforcement is currently playing out in Ferguson:
“”
Olson added, “the dominant visual aspect of the story, however, has been the sight of overpowering police forces confronting unarmed protesters who are seen waving signs or just their hands.”
How did this happen?
Most police officers are good cops and good people. It is an unquestionably difficult job, especially in the current circumstances.
There is a systemic problem with today’s law enforcement.
Not surprisingly, big government has been at the heart of the problem. Washington has incentivized the militarization of local police precincts by using federal dollars to help municipal governments build what are essentially small armies—where police departments compete to acquire military gear that goes far beyond what most of Americans think of as law enforcement.
This is usually done in the name of fighting the war on drugs or terrorism. The Heritage Foundation’s Evan Bernick wrote in 2013 that, “the Department of Homeland Security has handed out anti-terrorism grants to cities and towns across the country, enabling them to buy armored vehicles, guns, armor, aircraft, and other equipment.”
Bernick continued, “federal agencies of all stripes, as well as local police departments in towns with populations less than 14,000, come equipped with SWAT teams and heavy artillery.”
Bernick noted the cartoonish imbalance between the equipment some police departments possess and the constituents they serve, “today, Bossier Parish, Louisiana, has a .50 caliber gun mounted on an armored vehicle. The Pentagon gives away millions of pieces of military equipment to police departments across the country—tanks included.”
When you couple this militarization of law enforcement with an erosion of civil liberties and due process that allows the police to become judge and jury—national security letters, no-knock searches, broad general warrants, pre-conviction forfeiture—we begin to have a very serious problem on our hands.
Given these developments, it is almost impossible for many Americans not to feel like their government is targeting them. Given the racial disparities in our criminal justice system, it is impossible for African-Americans not to feel like their government is particularly targeting them.
This is part of the anguish we are seeing in the tragic events outside of St. Louis, Missouri. It is what the citizens of Ferguson feel when there is an unfortunate and heartbreaking shooting like the incident with Michael Brown.
Anyone who thinks that race does not still, even if inadvertently, skew the application of criminal justice in this country is just not paying close enough attention. Our prisons are full of black and brown men and women who are serving inappropriately long and harsh sentences for non-violent mistakes in their youth.
The militarization of our law enforcement is due to an unprecedented expansion of government power in this realm. It is one thing for federal officials to work in conjunction with local authorities to reduce or solve crime. It is quite another for them to subsidize it.
Americans must never sacrifice their liberty for an illusive and dangerous, or false, security. This has been a cause I have championed for years, and one that is at a near-crisis point in our country.
Let us continue to pray for Michael Brown’s family, the people of Ferguson, police, and citizens alike.
Paul is the junior U.S. Senator for Kentucky.
Witness Tension Between Police and Protestors in Ferguson, Mo.
A man backs away as law enforcement officials close in on him and eventually detain him during protests over the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager killed by a police officer, in Ferguson, Mo., Aug. 11, 2014. Whitney Curtis—The New York Times/Redux
Riot police force protestors from the business district into nearby neighborhoods in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images
A child uses a rag to shield his face from tear gas fired by riot police, who used it to force protestors from the business district into nearby neighborhoods in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images
Police officers keep watch from an armored vehicle as they patrol a street in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 11, 2014 Mario Anzuoni—Reuters
Police officers ride an armored vehicle as they patrol a street in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014. Mario Anzuoni—Reuters
A demonstrator raises his hands in front of of a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014. Mario Anzuoni—Reuters
Riot police lock down a neighborhood in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images
People raise their hands in the middle of the street as riot police move toward their position trying to get them to disperse, in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 11, 2014. Jeff Roberson—AP
Demonstrators raise their hands and chant "hands up, don't shoot" during a protest over the killing of Michael Brown on in Clayton, Mo. on August 12, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images
Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton speaks about the killing of teenager Michael Brown at a press conference held on the steps of the old courthouse in St. Louis on Aug. 12, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images
Police take up position to control demonstrators who were protesting the killing of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 12, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images
Demonstrators protest the killing of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on August 12, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images
Demonstrators protest the killing of teenager Michael Brown outside Greater St. Marks Family Church in St. Louis on Aug. 12, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images
Police stand watch as demonstrators protest the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images
A demonstrator throws back a tear gas container after tactical officers worked to break up a group of bystanders on Chambers Road near West Florissant in Ferguson on Aug. 13, 2014. Robert Cohen—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/MCT/Zuma Press
Police officers work their way north on West Florissant Avenue clearing the road of people in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014. Robert Cohen—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP
Demonstrators protest the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images
People run through smoke in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014. Jeff Roberson—AP
A protester takes shelter from smoke billowing around him in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014. David Carson—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP
An explosive device deployed by police flies in the air as police and protesters clash in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 13, 2014 Jeff Roberson—AP
Thousands of demonstrators peacefully march to the spot where Michael Brown was shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 14, 2014. Jeff Roberson—AP
Demetrus Washington joins other demonstrators protesting the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 14, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images
Demonstrators protest outside of Greater St. Marks Family Church in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 14, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters
Protesters light candles as they take part in a peaceful demonstration in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 14, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters
Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson (L) speaks to protesters as he walks through a peaceful demonstration as communities continue to react to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 14, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters
A young child looks out from a car as demonstrators drive down West Florissant Avenue protesting the shooting and death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 15, 2014. Scott Olson—Getty Images
A demonstrator walks through smoke launched by police after a skirmish in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 15, 2014 Scott Olson—Getty Images
A demonstrator protests on Florissant Ave in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 16, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—NOOR for TIME
Children walk past police officers during a demonstration in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 16, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME
Protestors help a man who was injured by tear gas thrown by police after refusing to disperse after the midnight curfew in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME
Protestors throw canisters in Ferguson, Mo. on August 18, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME
Protestors demonstrate against the killing of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Mo. on August 17, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—NOOR for TIME
A protestor during demonstrations in Ferguson, Mo. on August 17, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME
A protestor retaliates against police in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME
A protestor throws a canister of tear gas back at police during demonstrations in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME
Police wait to advance after tear gas was used to dispersed a crowd in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014. Charlie Riedel—AP
A protestor holds a sign that reads "stop killing us" amid clouds of tear gas in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014. Jon Lowenstein—Noor for TIME
Police wait to advance after tear gas was used to disperse a crowd in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014. Charlie Riedel—AP
Tear gas rains down on a woman kneeling in the street with her hands in the air during a demonstration in Ferguson on Aug. 17, 2014. The "hands up, don't shoot" pose became the defining gesture of the protests. Scott Olson—Getty Images
Protesters attempt to treat a woman who was in a cloud of tear gas thrown by police in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 17, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters
Demonstrators march down West Florissant Ave. during a peaceful march in reaction to the shooting of Michael Brown near Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters
Demonstrators march down West Florissant during a peaceful march in reaction to the shooting of Michael Brown, near Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters
Police tackle a man who was walking down the street in front of McDonald's in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014. Laurie Skrivan—St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP
Law enforcement officers watch on during a protest on West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014. Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty Images
Demonstrators cover their faces as tear gas fills the air as police fire the gas against an unruly crowd protesting the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug.18, 2014 Joe Raedle—Getty Images
A protestor wearing a gas mask stands with his hands up while facing armed police in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014. Abe Van Dyke—Demotix/Corbis
Police fire tear gas in the direction of where bottles were thrown from crowds gathered near the QuikTrip on W. Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 18, 2014. David Carson—St Louis Post-Dispatch/Polaris
Demonstrators stand in the middle of West Florissant as they react to tear gas fired by police during ongoing protests in reaction to the shooting of teenager Michael Brown, near Ferguson, Missouri, August 18, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters
Demonstrators protest against the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. Aug. 19, 2014. Joshua Lott—Reuters
A police officer in riot gear detains a demonstrator protesting against the shooting of Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 19, 2014. Joshua Lott—Reuters
Police officers in riot gear watch demonstrators protesting against the shooting of Michael Brown from the side of a building in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 19, 2014. Joshua Lott—Reuters
Two protesters sit with their faces covered during a peaceful protest in Ferguson, Mo. early on Aug. 20, 2014. Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty Images
A man is doused with milk and sprayed with mist after being hit by an eye irritant from security forces trying to disperse demonstrators in Ferguson, Mo. early on Aug. 20, 2014. Adrees Latif—Reuters
In this photo taken with a long exposure, protesters march in the street as lightning flashes in the distance in Ferguson, Mo., Aug. 20, 2014. Jeff Roberson—AP