The police force was supposed to be a strictly civilian force and they should never have access to things beyone what ordinary civilians can get. We’ve come so far away from that that the framers of the consitution would likely regard the modern police force as an invading army.
I have very mixed feelings on this. As a person who has managed to keep hold of her sanity I’m appalled, but as an American it makes me feel a bit patriotic. America, just because it’s a terrible idea to let you do it doesn’t mean we aren’t allowed to stop you.
You might need to dig deep, though, because the lower end starts at around $100,000, with prices reaching up to around $180,000. However, many people feel it’s a small price to pay for their family’s security.
The great thing about MRAPs is that if you miss a payment, there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
Civilians in america can also buy several fully automatic and semiautomatic weapons in a large caliber. I usually see police using MRAPs as deployable cover during barricaded suspect situations. Most of the time they don’t just show up and drive it through the building guns blazing, they use it as cover while giving commands, often holding down the area until the barricaded suspect gives up or a SWAT team can enter and try to arrest. Typically they attempt to use non lethal methods like flashbangs and bean bags unless the suspect becomes lethally violent like charging at officers with a knife or a rifle.
Police should not have anything the average person in the area couldn’t get.
I don’t give a shit about their lives. These are the tax dollars of the people who live here, and they should be spent protecting the lives of people who live here, not buying ever more baroque murder weapons.
They should not have the capacity to deploy lethal force. Their job is (supposedly) to subdue, not kill. If they were not onvaders, they shouldn’t have fire arms.
And these are just the ones where they got the wrong house (other than the one where they drove an armored car to a guy’s house to intimidate him). They’re offensive weapons, and the cops use them as such.
Any tool can be misused. I’d be curious what the percentage of wrong use cases of MRAPs is. There is a massive accountability issue with America’s policing. We need to address the accountability issues, not just take all their tools away.
When a tradesman fucks up a job do you blame the tools they used or the company they work for?
Murderous fascist dipships shpuldnt be given tools that are unacceptably dangerous (even when misused) to the community they’re invading raping and looting, then.
No guns. No cars.
Im not against addressing accountability and putting a blunty on everyone within one degree close association of any cop, but the fact they steal city budget to pay for shit to kill us with is… Okay its not more insane than paying them to kill is, but its up there.
So we just send the police to go deal with the military hardware that civilians have access to with nothing? We need more accountability for when and how they use their tools and weapons rather than just taking them away.
If cops are afraid of civilians having this hardware, they’re in the same boat as the rest of us. Maybe they’ll have some incentive to lobby for laws that would keep all of us safe.
But instead they lobby for things like perpetuating the decades long “war on drugs,” which is largely what this breach and clear shit is used for.
They want to wage war on civilians. And, really, just some civilians.
The police causes more death than the military. And until that changes, we are free to reduce the equipment and revise the training they should get.
There’s no good reason for a plumber to have c4. And there is no good reason for police to have armored vehicles. It’s not a building, it’s just pipes, and it’s not a warzone (before the police arrive), it’s a city.
Oh yeah and we can absolutely expect police handle lethal encounters. It’s a unique job with unique issues and if you can’t handle that, get out. You don’t get to cosplay military just because you feel too weak inside.
The police force was supposed to be a strictly civilian force and they should never have access to things beyone what ordinary civilians can get. We’ve come so far away from that that the framers of the consitution would likely regard the modern police force as an invading army.
I do. You ever checked their ID’s? Not one of them lives in the places they police.
Of course not. It’s hard to shoot your neighbors
A civilian can buy an MRAP.
I have very mixed feelings on this. As a person who has managed to keep hold of her sanity I’m appalled, but as an American it makes me feel a bit patriotic. America, just because it’s a terrible idea to let you do it doesn’t mean we aren’t allowed to stop you.
Give unions machine guns again dammit.
The great thing about MRAPs is that if you miss a payment, there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
With how much money some people spend on pickups now, I feel like an entry level MRAP for $100,000 would be much cooler.
Probably worse on gas mileage than a pickup though. ;p
It’s downright affordable compared to the destroyer you haul out to the lake house you rent for family vacations.
Civilians in america can also buy several fully automatic and semiautomatic weapons in a large caliber. I usually see police using MRAPs as deployable cover during barricaded suspect situations. Most of the time they don’t just show up and drive it through the building guns blazing, they use it as cover while giving commands, often holding down the area until the barricaded suspect gives up or a SWAT team can enter and try to arrest. Typically they attempt to use non lethal methods like flashbangs and bean bags unless the suspect becomes lethally violent like charging at officers with a knife or a rifle.
Police should not have anything the average person in the area couldn’t get.
I don’t give a shit about their lives. These are the tax dollars of the people who live here, and they should be spent protecting the lives of people who live here, not buying ever more baroque murder weapons.
They should not have the capacity to deploy lethal force. Their job is (supposedly) to subdue, not kill. If they were not onvaders, they shouldn’t have fire arms.
A SWAT team destroyed a Texas home and refused to pay for the damage. Now the homeowner is fighting back.
Police Owe Nothing To Man Whose Home They Blew Up, Appeals Court Says
Wisconsin police send armoured vehicle to collect fine from 75-year-old
Homeowner left to cover damages after Las Vegas SWAT raid goes awry
Not an MRAP, but explosives: Police tore through the wrong house. Now Austin won’t pay for the damage.
And these are just the ones where they got the wrong house (other than the one where they drove an armored car to a guy’s house to intimidate him). They’re offensive weapons, and the cops use them as such.
is that to the wrong house or through the wrong house? not joking, legitimately asking i’ve seen a few civil cases against PDs
Here’s an archived version that’s not paywalled.
Any tool can be misused. I’d be curious what the percentage of wrong use cases of MRAPs is. There is a massive accountability issue with America’s policing. We need to address the accountability issues, not just take all their tools away.
When a tradesman fucks up a job do you blame the tools they used or the company they work for?
Murderous fascist dipships shpuldnt be given tools that are unacceptably dangerous (even when misused) to the community they’re invading raping and looting, then.
No guns. No cars.
Im not against addressing accountability and putting a blunty on everyone within one degree close association of any cop, but the fact they steal city budget to pay for shit to kill us with is… Okay its not more insane than paying them to kill is, but its up there.
We know what happens when we arm a police force with military weapons and no accountability.
I absolutely blame the cops and the people who gave them these deadly toys.
If a tradesman “fixed” my plumbing with C4 I’d blame the plumber and the guy who gave him the explosive.
I’d rather the right-wing paramilitary not have weapons of war.
So we just send the police to go deal with the military hardware that civilians have access to with nothing? We need more accountability for when and how they use their tools and weapons rather than just taking them away.
I really don’t care if cops have to deal with that. It’s their job.
If they don’t want to do it, find another one. The world could use fewer armed right-wing meathead goons.
Or try de-escalation for a change.
To add:
If cops are afraid of civilians having this hardware, they’re in the same boat as the rest of us. Maybe they’ll have some incentive to lobby for laws that would keep all of us safe.
But instead they lobby for things like perpetuating the decades long “war on drugs,” which is largely what this breach and clear shit is used for.
They want to wage war on civilians. And, really, just some civilians.
Can’t find that in the manual…
The police causes more death than the military. And until that changes, we are free to reduce the equipment and revise the training they should get.
There’s no good reason for a plumber to have c4. And there is no good reason for police to have armored vehicles. It’s not a building, it’s just pipes, and it’s not a warzone (before the police arrive), it’s a city.
Oh yeah and we can absolutely expect police handle lethal encounters. It’s a unique job with unique issues and if you can’t handle that, get out. You don’t get to cosplay military just because you feel too weak inside.