I could build a better one for under $100,000 and a 1980 chevy 4x4.
Posted on 05/30/2009 6:56:12 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
A $226,000 armored vehicle for the North Richland Hills Police Department SWAT team arrived a few days ago to replace one the agency got in 1990.
To many people that vehicle — and others like it used by police departments across the country — will go unnoticed. The public seems to largely accept the use of military-type equipment, technology and tactics as not only appropriate but also necessary to fight crime and make communities more safe and secure.
Armored vehicles are used by law enforcement agencies in Fort Worth, Arlington and Bedford and at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, just to name a few. Some police departments have assault rifles, noise-flash devices and grenade launchers. Arlington even sought federal money for a drone aircraft.
But some criminal-justice experts are troubled by law enforcement agencies’ growing use of military-style equipment. Rather than employ such equipment only in extreme situations, the critics say, their use is becoming commonplace, leading police to use unnecessary force and intimidating residents. For example, some cite an episode last year in which police used a battering ram to raid a Duncanville swingers club when no one answered a knock.
"We have been witnesses to a little-noticed but nonetheless momentous historical change — the traditional distinctions between military/police, war/law and internal/external security are rapidly blurring," said criminal justice professor Peter Kraska, of Eastern Kentucky University, in one on his studies on the militarization of police departments.
(Excerpt) Read more at star-telegram.com ...
More like drug gangsters.
No 2DV, it’s just little boys with penis envy problems.
I hope like hell not.....
Trying to get into the Gestapo club.
Federally funded. What a surprise. Just in case obi needs to “borrow” them for a while.
Why bust down a door, when you can drive through it.
Were you in the ROK during the Tree Cutting incident?
Janet Reno must be twitching with anticipation.
Maybe they can bring Lon in to shoot some more women and children.
No. Processed out in July of 76. That incident happened about a month later IIRC.
OK now the narco cops are not only going to break down the door of the wrong house they are going to blow it up.
All at taxpayer expense of course. The home owner will not be charged for this service. Of course the home owner will be responsible for any needed repairs.
I remember back in 1968 the police force of Cairo, Illinois made their own armor plated vehicle. they dubbed it THE WAR WAGGON.
It’s all about conditioning...getting the ‘masses’ mentally mushy so that when they see it, it’s not that big of a deal.
How many movies & tv cop shows have this sort of para-military stuff in it at the disposal of local law enforcement? How many of them show ‘no-knock’ entries, or warrantless searches as the norm? Just good cops doing whatever it takes to get the bad guys, right?
“Hey, they do it on Law & Order! Must be ok.”
There aren't enough APC's or SWAT teams to deal with the next tea parties.
Nonetheless, cops and law enforcement thugs in general are a real pain in the a$$ these days.
I've told everybody within my sphere of influence to not attract their attention if possible, and for God's sake never call them to your location.
No matter how dire the situation, it can always be made worse by adding a cop.
Disturbing to read - but what isn’t anymore?
“No 2DV, it’s just little boys with penis envy problems.”
Except these little boys knock down doors and shoot grandmas on occasion. Not on purpose of course but when SWAT is used to deliver parking tickets it gets kinda crazy.
And of course like any guy who gets a new tool for Christmas he find a reason to use it.
Hey we got this new bad ass armored vehicle what are we going to do with it?
Same with the special tactics teams. After a police commissioner spends millions of dollars on forming a paramilitary unit he is going to expect to get results from that team. So the responsible lieutenant is going to feel pressure to find work for them.
And when some one is under pressure to show results there is a higher likelihood of errors in judgment.
I could build a better one for under $100,000 and a 1980 chevy 4x4.
‘No matter how dire the situation, it can always be made worse by adding a cop. “
Shoot, shovel, shutup
It Is Our TIME !
I can’t see otherwise,,,,,,
“War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.” [Big Brother]
How will History deal with US?
As Romans or Spartans?
ping
I think you will need at least a Ford F450 for starters.
BINGO!!!!
“How will History deal with US?
As Romans or Spartans?”
Unless we get real about Islam, the correct answer to your question may well be, “As dhimmi”.
Islam Delenda Est
No, thanks.
I had my last halfway-decent "contact" with LEO's in the 1960's.
What’s a milspec civilian hummer cost these days?
They have to be cheaper than this boonedoogle.
How many dogs can they kill with that thing?
“Could this be partly getting ready for the next tea parties?”
....nope, just geting ready for the coming break up of America:
http://www.timebomb2000.com/misc/CWII.pdf
“... some cite an episode last year in which police used a battering ram to raid a Duncanville swingers club when no one answered a knock.”
I think that the use of a battering ram hardly constitutes the use of “military equipment”. If you actually have to have a SWAT team, enough gun(s) to do the job, armor to protect the team, and the proper training to accomplish the mission would be right up there in my book. MP5’s, AR-15’s and Rem. 700 SPS’s have been used by cops for a long time. All are “sorta” military weapons, but lots of military weapons are “sorta” civilian weapons as well so there’s really no hard and fast way to draw the line between either. It’s foolish to try to define what is “military” in hopes of using the distinction for control or prohibition.
Cops should use what is necessary to get the job done, and not get themselves hurt. Otherwise, why have cops? Just hire more social workers.
Hell no only when they grow up and start acting like real cops instead of para military thugs.
.
Better trained cops - ex-military
Would be a better way to go
The usual PD firearms training/practice is usually pretty sparse and accuracy is quite sad
I’d be curious to know what the hell North Richland Hills used the previous such vehicle for?
It should be a matter of public record what it was used for - besides their “dress-up and play soldier” exercises...
Buncha pseudo-military jackasses are running aournd wasting their time and our money pretending to be soldiers when we’ve got a real war they could go volunteer for - but shoot; in Afghanistan, the bad guys shoot back!
Makes you want to tell them there’s always Paintball they could go play at!
“The usual PD firearms training/practice is usually pretty sparse and accuracy is quite sad”
Agreed, your average beat cop is hardly a weapons/tactics expert. Hopefully, SWAT folks get better training, which begs the question of whether there is any national standards for SWAT training, and how consistent are the teams trained to the standard. Obiously, no standards and no adherence to them can cause a heap o’ trouble.
Urban Gorilla kits
http://www.4x4bodies.com/
I found a website that is selling a used Hummers with 15,000 miles on the clock for $35,000
ping
.
Time has to be set aside for proper firarms practice
And a good budget for range ammo
The average cop in NY state could only hit a close target about 5% of the time
To any young teenaged hunter or military trainee that is a joke
They are often too busy getting their donuts and free coffee at the corner convenience store, lol.
One definitely must wonder exactly WHAT they think they are preparing for...
Rock on! Let's hate all the little piggies!
Or they might be looking South of the Border, at the increased firepower and militant and violent tendencies of the drug gangs.
VietVet
Dallas area LEOs weren't so bad until the 1990s, and there are still quite a few decent ones in the mix. Unfortunately there have been a lot of incidents (fortunately that haven't gotten much press coverage nationally, so hopefully their reputation can be salvaged if things get cleaned up) involving faked evidence in drug busts, bogus tickets, intimidation, bribery, etc. that haven't been addressed due to political concerns.
The Sheriff's department is a bit worse, unfortunately; and probably so morally corrupt now that the organization is irredeemable even if a decent sheriff were to ever get elected (not likely in Dallas county these days, sadly). There are still some good people out there, but if you can talk to them privately they'll drop hints about some really serious corruption and scandalous behavior.
Things aren't hopeless, however. A lot of the suburbs in the DFW area have great police departments, and the constables are still virtuous.
I wonder what they are going to do with the old one.
VietVet
“The average cop in NY state could only hit a close target about 5% of the time
To any young teenaged hunter or military trainee that is a joke”
Hell, I’ve taken some female friends out to the range before, and they did pretty decently. for their first time shooting. Never touched a firearm before, and they can hit a paper target at 50 yards, with no scope. I would hope that a cop could do better than that with a pistol at 10 or even 25 feet. :/
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