When The War On Crime Takes On The Appearance of War

Any person with common sense should be alarmed at what we see in Ferguson Missouri.  It has gotten out of hand.  The escalation is wholly the result of the over-militarization of police in the United States.

It all started with the “war on crime.”  Using the word “war” set the tone that has allowed our police forces to arm themselves with military hardware, such as armored cars, machine guns, assault rifles, and stun grenades.  The pictures in Ferguson Missouri look like the military on the street in a third world, banana republic.

Case in Point, Doraville GA:

In Doraville Georgia, a city that has not had a murder since 2009, their police force had armed cars.  For what purpose would the Doraville Police need armored cars?  If there was ever a situation needing that show of force, that is why we have the National Guard.  There is no reason for the police to have these weapons.  Having these weapons creates a schism between the police, who are there to protect and serve, and the citizens. It sets the wrong tone and thereby attracts the wrong type of person to be a police officer.

The Situation in Ferguson Missouri:

In Ferguson, a heavily armed police officer intimidated and arrested two reporters in a McDonalds.  His behavior was appalling.  He had no right to speak in the way he did, and yet I see this every day in my job, police officers acting like thugs.  Most police officers do a good job and are respectful of others, but there are too many thugs in every police force.  Those people need to be weeded out.

An Infant Who is Another Casualty in the War on Crime:

In Habersham County Georgia, thugs from the Sherriff's department threw a stun grenade into a home.  They were looking for a drug dealer.  This was not a hostage crisis, and there was no murder.  No one was hold up in the home.  They indiscriminately threw in a grenade, and it landed in a baby's crib, severely burning him.  The infant will suffer a lifetime of horror.

Why?  It all comes down to the war on crime.  The Sheriff, who has the brains of a small soap dish, blames the drug dealer.  Incidentally the alleged drug dealer was not home.  Had the Sheriff's office tracked him, they would have known that little fact.

The Sheriff called the alleged drug dealer a "terrorist."  That is the mentality of law enforcement in Habersham County. That is how they justify throwing a grenade into a home.  The District Attorney, who is the coward of the year, refused to investigate the matter until there was intense public pressure.

Dear Mr. Coward D.A., surely the officers who threw the grenade indiscriminatingly into a home, without first ascertaining if it was safe, committed the offense of reckless conduct.  Surely, they could have looked in the minivan parked on the driveway and see the child safety seats.  Surely, they could have simply staked out the area and waited for the alleged drug dealer to come or go.

Why on earth does the sheriff in rural North Georgia need grenades in the first place? Has anyone ever asked that question?

Instead, the D.A. cleared the police officers of all wrong doing just hours after the incident.  The  D.A. only changed his tone after he stuck his finger up into the air and realized that the citizens would not stand for this anymore.  However, more than two month has passed, and NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE.

The war on citizens, masquerading as the war on crime, needs to end. This is what the “war on crime” has given all of us: