IPFS News Link • Police State
Local Cops Ready for War With Homeland Security-Funded Military Weapons
• thedailybeast.comNestled amid plains so flat the locals joke you can watch your dog run away for miles, Fargo treasures its placid lifestyle, seldom pierced by the mayhem and violence common in other urban communities. North Dakota’s largest city has averaged fewer than two homicides a year since 2005, and there’s not been a single international terrorism prosecution in the last decade.
But that hasn’t stopped authorities in Fargo and its surrounding county from going on an $8 million buying spree to arm police officers with the sort of gear once reserved only for soldiers fighting foreign wars.
Every city squad car is equipped today with a military-style assault rifle, and officers can don Kevlar helmets able to withstand incoming fire from battlefield-grade ammunition. And for that epic confrontation—if it ever occurs—officers can now summon a new $256,643 armored truck, complete with a rotating turret. For now, though, the menacing truck is used mostly for training and appearances at the annual city picnic, where it’s been parked near the children’s bounce house.
“Most people are so fascinated by it, because nothing happens here,” says Carol Archbold, a Fargo resident and criminal justice professor at North Dakota State University. “There’s no terrorism here.”
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2 Comments in Response to Local Cops Ready for War With Homeland Security-Funded Military Weapons
What cereal box is Ms Hancock reading in the mornings?
When do we get some real "news"? Most of this stuff has been a serious and "illegal" problem for nearly 30 years. Does anyone actually believe that all the "federal" fund - taxpayer dollars - that have gone to arm the various police departments, around the country have been for the benefit of the "public"? The sole purpose has been to "militarize" and co-opt law enforcement, so as to have a first-line force in place when it becomes necessary to "go domestic". This is expecially scary, since the marginal misfits that make up a large percentage of local and state law enforcement are the last gang of thugs anyone in their right mind would want to be running around with automatic weapons and federal sanction on their usual propensity for abusing American citizens. (Most of them are inept at handling simple semi-automatic weapons; the spectre of the new gestapo with automatic weapons and other ordinance is worisome, at best.)
Move to a warmer climate, while there is still time. The "camps", if you are fortunate enough to survive, will be much warmer; if you want to stay alive, your chances will be greatly enhanced!
http://www.theagitator.com/2011/12/21/the-daily-beast-center-for-investigative-reporting-take-on-police-militarization/