That United States police departments have become a militia is a terrifying thought, and an even scarier reality.
The news coverage of Ferguson, Missouri, has shed light on this problem, but killing unarmed citizens is just the tip of the iceberg. People today are subject to being tear-gassed during peaceful protests, even though the use of tear gas is restricted in war. Low-level marijuana dealers are targeted and have their houses broken into by what might as well be SWAT teams with semi-automatic rifles. More cases with unarmed victims of police brutality are arising, and it looks like it may continue for some time.
As daunting as the death of Michael Brown is, it is not the only, or even the most recent, case of an unarmed person being killed by police. There have been at least four other deaths in the past few weeks.
Eric Garner was choked to death while being arrested by the NYPD for selling untaxed cigarettes. John Crawford was gunned down in a Wal-Mart while holding a BB gun he had picked up from a shelf.
I could understand why somebody might be shot if they are armed and dangerous, but when somebody is clearly not armed but looks “suspicious,” why does he need to be killed?
The police are meant to protect us but have turned their sights towards protecting themselves from “threats” that do not match the level of “protection” police think they need. Local police are now often equipped with semi-automatic weapons, tanks with gun turrets and other military equipment. Those kinds of weapons are meant for equally armed adversaries, not citizens who are walking the streets or protesting. Instead of maybe taking out a taser or baton when in a confrontation, many officers have learned to reach for their guns first. Our police officers have gone from Andy Griffith to G.I. Joe in a matter of decades.
Plenty of officers have come to somehow think they are above the law and should not be questioned. Sunil Dutta of the Los Angeles Police Department recently wrote this in the Washington Post:
“If you don’t want to get shot, tased, pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton or thrown to the ground, just do what I tell you.”
People have the right to know what they are being arrested for and if their constitutional rights are being neglected, which they often are. Yet so many videos are circulating the Internet, depicting officers maliciously beating and arresting cooperative people. Obviously, there are many officers who are qualified and respectful of people’s rights, but there are too many who are violating our rights and trust to ignore.
The militarization of police departments around the country has taken its toll on many lives.
Police in England and Wales went the last two years without fatally shooting anybody. I don’t see why the U.S. can’t even attempt to emulate the efforts of these two countries. Instead, the Pentagon has transferred $4.3 billion in military equipment to states and local communities, with $450 million being in 2013 alone. Fortunately, some politicians are speaking out for the demilitarization of our police departments. Democratic Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia announced his intention of introducing the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act. Senator of Kentucky and potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul has also called for police demilitarization.
Many things could be done to change the framework of today’s seemingly catalyzed police force, but whether things actually change remains to be seen.
The only way injustice from our heavily armed police is going to end is through change. There is no excuse to shoot somebody six times when they don’t have a lethal weapon. Police officers have to face harsher consequences for killing unarmed citizens, regardless of the race of the victim. Trust needs to be established between law enforcement and the citizens.
Parsa Rafatian is a sophomore from Oxford.
