Not Throwing Away My Shot: Alexander Hamilton and the Militarization of the American Police

Via Προστάτης Καντονεζικός

Aberdeen, SD. Making a bit of news in June was the small town of Moundsville, West Virginia, population roughly 9,000. The news was the receipt by the Moundsville police of a surplus U.S. Army vehicle known as a “mine resistance ambush protection vehicle,” or MRAP. Why would a small town such as Moundsville need a military style armored vehicle? The police chief vaguely stated it could be used for “lots of things.” No doubt. I imagine there might be some tough characters in rural West Virginia, but it’s hard to imagine they are laying landmines. This is precisely the kind of militarization of the American police that has long worried observers of law enforcement. In 1960s Mayberry Barney Fife was trusted with only one bullet. Now he’d have an assault rifle and an armored attack vehicle. In urban settings the stereotype of the neighborhood flatfoot charming the local urchins armed with his billy club and revolver has been replaced with scenes of police more suited for an assault on Fallujah than the streets of the Bronx.