Garrett Moore

The Militarization of Police Forces

In 1996, a SWAT team in La Plata County, Colorado dressed in black hoods and camouflage
descends on a ranch owned by Samuel Heflin. They're looking for evidence -- a cowboy hat, shirt, and a
pack of cigarettes -- related to a bar brawl. On the way into Heflin's home, police force an eight-year-old
and a 14-year-old to the ground at gunpoint. They then train a laser-sighted assault weapon on Heflin's
four-year-old daughter as she runs screaming into the house. Upon asking to see a search warrant,
Heflin is told by SWAT officers to "shut the fuck up." Heflin would later be acquitted of misdemeanor
charges related to the bar brawl (Botched).
You only hear about raids and incidents that use militarized policing in big cities and incidents
that are televised. These cases are only a small fraction of what actually happens around the country.
For example the militarized police in the episode of Ferguson, Missouri got national attention. There are
many other incidents like this all over the country. Cities and small towns all across the nation are
receiving military equipment for their policing such as Mraps, Snipers, fully automatic weapons, etc.
Police forces all around the country get this equipment because they want to rescue people in an
emergency and make citizens feel safe and secure.
If the intention of police is to make people feel safe, demilitarizing the police would create more
security and maintain liberty in this country.
The fourth Amendment states, The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants
shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the
place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized (U.S Constitution). In the incident in my
first paragraph, do the police obey the fourth Amendment?
Militarizing our police forces is a waste of money, especially given how militarized police
worsens public security. Heavily armed police officers using flash-bang grenades, automatic weapons,
and Mraps, naturally increases citizens fear in the face of militarized police. According to Radley Balko,
the author of Rise of the Warrior Cop: Police are supposed to relate to the community, not put on
combat boots and assault the community (Balko). Police officers and departments must both obey to
the law and be firm in its enforcement. They should refrain from being swayed by public opinion but
instead be concerned with promoting and doing what is always right. The ACLU (American Civil Liberties
Union) documented 53 cases of SWAT teams busting doors down with no warning, seven of the cases of
civilians dying in these kinds of raids, and 46 people being injured (The Militarizing). This is only in the
cases the civil liberties group looked at. This sort of policing does not make citizens feel protected.
In fact, it has the opposite effect. Militarized police increase anxiety among citizens. When you
see police walking around with military grade weapons and driving Mraps down public streets, that
doesnt give the impression of a safe and secure place. Citizens will be intimidated by the militarized
equipment and think something dangerous is happening, when in reality they are going to search a
house for drugs. In Ferguson, Missouri there is a picture of a police officer decked out in military grade
armor on top of a black Mrap parked in the streets of Missouri was looking through the scope of his
sniper rifle pointed at a group of protestors (Not Just Ferguson). Police are not supposed to aim their
weapons unless they are going to fire. There was not just one picture off police doing this there were
many pictures of cops aiming their weapons at civilians.
People might believe that militarizing the police with the power and equipment that they have
will maximize the security and help keep liberties, but in the utilitarian perspective, Jeremy Bentham
would believe that, yes militarizing police would help increase the security and liberty in this country by
stopping occurrences quickly. The other utilitarian John Stewart Mills would say, no militarizing police
would actually invade the security and liberty of citizens in the long run by creating unnecessary raids
and using military grade equipment without full military training that should be required to have to use
the military grade equipment.
The police get this equipment for instances that actually need it. For instance a sniper rifle
would come to use in case of a hostage circumstance. I tend to believe that police forces get this style
of equipment and feel they need to use it. I compare it to when a little kid gets a toy from the toy store
they want to go home and play with it, the police get a new mrap they want to drive it, they get flash
bang grenades they want to throw them.
The militarization of police needs to be stopped immediately, SWAT teams use restored to
hostage, barricade, and active shooter situations, and military weapons and equipment returned from
police departments to the Federal government for storage or disposal. They need to maximize the
security and liberty in this country rather than invoking fear.

Works Cited
Balko, Radley. Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
"Botched Paramilitary Police Raids." Cato Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.cato.org/raidmap>.
"Not Just Ferguson: 11 Eye-Opening Facts About America's Militarized Police Forces | BillMoyers.com."
BillMoyers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. <http://billmoyers.com/2014/08/13/not-just-
ferguson-11-eye-opening-facts-about-americas-militarized-police-forces/>.
"The Militarizing of Local Police." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/bradlockwood/2011/11/30/the-militarizing-of-local-police/>.
"U.S. Constitution - Amendment 4 - The U.S. Constitution Online - USConstitution.net." U.S. Constitution
- Amendment 4 - The U.S. Constitution Online - USConstitution.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct.
2014. <http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_Am4.html>.