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Do we need “kinder and gentler” cops interacting with the community in a friendly fashion? It is certainly to the benefit of the police to be in good standing with a cooperative community and to know the people they protect and serve

The writer seriously understates the importance to effective policing of having public's good will.

There is only one alternative for the law to being in good standing with the public. Its not something any country wishing to remain free would want.

“The writer seriously understates the importance to effective policing of having public’s good will.”

I think what you’re trying to say is the key.

It’s how any police force or other organization uses their equipment.

Militarization of the police is beginning to sound a lot like the gun issue.

Blame the guns, not the murderer.

Blame the equipment, not the abuse of power.

Ultimately it points to more control from the Feds and less individual and local autonomy.

It is certainly to the benefit of the police to be in good standing with a cooperative community and to know the people they protect and serve

You are 100% correct. The sentence should read, "it is essential to the police to be in good standing with the community." If a significant percentage of the public, or even a highly motivated small minority is actively opposing the police then their job is impossible to perform.

Common sense and simple numbers show this to be true, and it is amply confirmed by historical experience here and in other countries. Does anyone really think even 100 police officers wearing whatever body armor they have and carrying carbines could effectively hold off any significant number of irate civilians? We all just saw what really happens long before any shots are even fired when perhaps 400 or so armed civilians showed up in Nevada. And even though that situation ended peacefully the overall dispute was apparently sufficient to trigger the murder of several police officers subsequently by a couple of deranged anti-police individuals.

A quick look at any country suffering serious civil strife shows that the police are very quickly rendered ineffective, regardless of whether they are heavily armed or not.

Police depend on community support and cooperation, and must have that to function.

The writer seriously understates the importance to effective policing of having public's good will.

There is only one alternative for the law to being in good standing with the public. Its not something any country wishing to remain free would want.

Could not agree more. My son, who is barely old enough to drink and hasn't been to college yet, spent just under a year in Afghanistan as a Marine. He learned more about effective policing and having the public's good will in that year, than these knuckle draggers with badges have learned in 10+ years.

Of course, my son's life relied upon his unit having a good relationship with the locals in the area he operated in. These cops in in Ferguson don't have their lives on the lines in the same manner, and so it's very easy for them to act like an occupying force.

And anybody who doesn't think this can happen in their town is not paying attention - these police forces are not being militarized just in areas with poor or black people. If anything, some of the richest/whitest areas have police forces with a lot more weapons and armor, and trust me, they aren't buying or receiving all of this equipment to protect the citizens.