Militarization of Our Police Essay

I strongly feel that military tactics, training, and equipment do not have a place in American law enforcement because dozens of needless deaths and injuries have occurred because of it and it’s extremely expensive to supply these things. First, the American law enforcement has become much too aggressive with its citizens. There are several reports of police going above and beyond, using extreme measures, to take down the general public. One perfect example would be the MacDonald case. In the summer of 2006 a frail, troubled 18-year-old girl named Ashley MacDonald ran through a nearly empty Huntington Beach, California, city park in the early morning holding a small knife. An onlooker called the police and soon two large male officers showed up. They shot the girl to death with 18 bullets, claiming she had lunged toward them and put their lives in danger (Greenhut, 2008). Another example showing excessive, military force being used would be the Jose Guerena case. The home of former Marine and Iraq combat veteran Jose Guerena was raided by local sheriffs in Pima County, Arizona, who were attempting to execute a narcotics search warrant. Unfortunately, the manner in which the SWAT team invaded Guerena’s home prompted Guerena to reach for his gun to protect himself and his family. Sheriffs then shot off 71 rounds and hit Guerena with 22, killing him (Clabough, 2011). Second, it has cost the government millions of dollars to supply the American law enforcement with military equipment, which I believe is completely unnecessary. According to Pentagon data cited by The Daily, the Defense Department gave away almost $500 million worth of surplus military equipment to state and local law enforcement in 2011, which was a new record. And next year’s orders are already up more than 400 percent (Newman, 2011). The crime rate may have decreased, but the detailed numerous accounts of abuses and failed operations that left innocent people dead and the record billions worth of military equipment still being handed to local police is absolutely ridiculous. I feel there is more bad than good deriving from the militarization of our police.