[seldom_seen]

Because it's tacti-cool. Grown up boys playing GI Joe.

Yeah...It seems they all dress up now like a Delta team about to be dropped behind enemy lines in Mogadishu.

I would prefer plain, blue, police uniforms. Then when they pull stunts like this we don't have to sit around and wonder who they were.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

The real problem, IMHO, with dressing cops up in fatigues is that they start to forget who they are. Cops who dress like soldiers, carry soldier's weapons, cut their hair like soldiers, strut around like soldier, they start acting like soldiers. They get too focused on tactics and forget public relations. Invading another country is not the same thing as policing your fellow citizens. The two require very different attitudes and approaches. IMHO, there are far too many cops out there trying to play soldier and making us the de facto enemy combatants.

Agreed.

[Sixstrings]

Because it's tacti-cool. Grown up boys playing GI Joe.

Yeah...It seems they all dress up now like a Delta team about to be dropped behind enemy lines in Mogadishu.

I would prefer plain, blue, police uniforms. Then when they pull stunts like this we don't have to sit around and wonder who they were.

Wow, this is a new one on me. IMHO, only national guard or us military should war combat fatigues.. civilian police have no business dressing as US military!

What the heck is wrong with Pennsylvania??? Sheesh

Regarding those vidoes further up in the thread.. my lord, that is some downright irresponsible stuff -- gassing college kids in a freaking stair well, and blocking their exit.

I can't figure out what's going on here, are Pennsylvania cops just out of control testosterone ragers or is this some kind of new paradigm?

[seldom_seen]

[eastbay]

Sorry, what's your point?

My point was the kid (allegedly) vandalized a local business, so the state police arrested him. Nothing especially surprising. Happens at any major protest. The story here was that people thought it was military which would be a violation of federal law.

As for your concerns about provocateurs, it certainly wouldn't surprise me. It's a good bet that most big protests will have some. It's estimated that at one point 40% of the members of Communist Party USA were police infiltrators.

I hate to digress, but that percentage of LEO infiltration into the ranks of the CPUSA is a HUGE exaggeration... I don't mean to even come close to suggesting you are exaggerating SPG, but that oft-repeated figure is way puffed up. Even in the 30's it was a small percentage based on what a few old timers have told me.

Based on personal experience, the real number (during the VNW) was most likely closer to a very low single digit. And by the 80's it was even less. By now it's probably zero.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

I can't figure out what's going on here, are Pennsylvania cops just out of control testosterone ragers or is this some kind of new paradigm?

This kind of garbage is happening at every major protest. Check out the LA protests a few years ago, which was totally peaceful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdNdN-g8 ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaJapSwY ... L&index=11

[Sixstrings]

Another video.. this is a good summary of the action (in comments in the youtube vid):

Breakdown of Video:
0:15 - girl on bike pushed with club by officer #1
0:17 - girl getting off bike
0:18 - as girl is stepping off bike, officer #2 pushes her again, she almost loses balance
0:19 - girl throws bike at officer #1
0:20 - officer easily deflects bike
0:21 - officer batters back of girl's head with club
0:23 - as she stumbles to the side, officer #2 hits her head with club
0:24 - girl falls to ground
0:26 - girl dragged away and cuffed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J23HNJBbpcg&feature=player_embedded#t=50

This is some real thuggery.. this wispy little teenage girl is moving as fast as she can with her bicycle, cops SHOVE her twice, and then she makes the mistake of lightly tossing the bike at the cop (like she could hurt him, she's a twig).. and then they bash her around with their clubs.

This is disgusting, these cops are just too freaking EAGER to use their cool toys.

[smallpoxgirl]

Wow, this is a new one on me. IMHO, only national guard or us military should war combat fatigues.. civilian police have no business dressing as US military!

Lots of SWAT types are into fatigues now. If you read the cop gear catalogs, they sell lots of fatigues. It's certainly not a phenomenon restricted to Pennsylvania. This sort of mentality was exactly what triggered the Waco massacre. ATF bought themselves a bunch of soldier toys and wanted to try them out. They could have easily arrested Koresh any time. He invited them to come out to his compound and have a look around. Instead they lied to get a bunch of military training. They told the Army that he had drugs which they knew he didn't, but that's the only way the Army could legally train them. They made their big raid. One of the ATF agents had an accidental discharge. The other agents freaked out, thought they're were being fired on, and opened up on the Davidians. Result: Millions of dollars in expense, and a couple of dozen dead people. All because of cops trying to play soldier.

[Dreamtwister]

are Pennsylvania cops just out of control testosterone ragers or is this some kind of new paradigm?

Yes and yes. Do you feel free yet?

[Cloud9]

The politics of the war on drugs and the war on crime has militarized police departments across the country. The tiniest burg now has its own swat team. The mentality has encouraged law enforcement agencies to create paramilitaries. Once you buy into this mentality, there is no end to the toy wish list. At one point, I recall that ATF was looking to purchase ground attack aircraft.

The natural consequence of this mentality is that you wind up being all dressed up with no place to go. Boredom and the itch to test equipment and concepts can result in a hair trigger. The slightest provocation drops the hammer.


Waco created Tim McVeigh. It is difficult for me to see how government can claim it won that one.