Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Rise of the Warrior Cop
Wall Street Journal ^ | 8/7/2013

Posted on 08/11/2013 12:46:09 PM PDT by Red in Blue PA

On Jan. 4 of last year, a local narcotics strike force conducted a raid on the Ogden, Utah, home of Matthew David Stewart at 8:40 p.m. The 12 officers were acting on a tip from Mr. Stewart's former girlfriend, who said that he was growing marijuana in his basement. Mr. Stewart awoke, naked, to the sound of a battering ram taking down his door. Thinking that he was being invaded by criminals, as he later claimed, he grabbed his 9-millimeter Beretta pistol.

The police say that they knocked and identified themselves, though Mr. Stewart and his neighbors said they heard no such announcement. Mr. Stewart fired 31 rounds, the police more than 250. Six of the officers were wounded, and Officer Jared Francom was killed. Mr. Stewart himself was shot twice before he was arrested. He was charged with several crimes, including the murder of Officer Francom.

....

The police tactics at issue in the Stewart case are no anomaly. Since the 1960s, in response to a range of perceived threats, law-enforcement agencies across the U.S., at every level of government, have been blurring the line between police officer and soldier. Driven by martial rhetoric and the availability of military-style equipment—from bayonets and M-16 rifles to armored personnel carriers—American police forces have often adopted a mind-set previously reserved for the battlefield. The war on drugs and, more recently, post-9/11 antiterrorism efforts have created a new figure on the U.S. scene: the warrior cop—armed to the teeth, ready to deal harshly with targeted wrongdoers, and a growing threat to familiar American liberties.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: obama; policestate
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-70 next last

1 posted on 08/11/2013 12:46:09 PM PDT by Red in Blue PA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Red in Blue PA
The police say that they knocked and identified themselves

a) So what? Isn't it their responsibility to ascertain that he actually HEARD it before escalating.

b) So what? Criminals have been proven to be incapable of properly enunciating "POLICE!! OPEN UP!!"? So how can you put the citizen at risk so the citizen's employee can do his job? Why would the burden of making a wrong guess fall on a member of the wealth-CREATING sector as opposed to the wealth-CONSUMING sector??

2 posted on 08/11/2013 12:51:16 PM PDT by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red in Blue PA

Bayonets?When you see cops with fixed bayonets then you will know it’s time....


3 posted on 08/11/2013 12:51:18 PM PDT by Farmer Dean (stop worrying about what they want to do to you,start thinking about what you want to do to them)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red in Blue PA

The “warrior cop” gets around the icky Posse Comitatus.


4 posted on 08/11/2013 12:51:33 PM PDT by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red in Blue PA
Mr. Stewart fired 31 rounds

I'm surprised he got off more than three.

5 posted on 08/11/2013 12:54:23 PM PDT by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red in Blue PA
Murphy, it's you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piCL8qa9azA

6 posted on 08/11/2013 12:56:06 PM PDT by PapaNew
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red in Blue PA
One just needs to go back and look at the changing definition of "law enforcement" in this country to understand how we got here.

At one time, "law enforcement" was literally just that -- apprehending a suspected criminal for the purpose of: (1) protecting him from armed citizens hell-bent on exacting their own brand of justice; and (2) ensuring that the suspect was afforded a trial by a jury of his peers. In most jurisdictions the law enforcement officer was outmanned and out-gunned by the armed citizenry of that jurisdiction, so he relied heavily on the respect and good will of these citizens to carry out his duties.

The whole game changed once "police officers" became commonplace in America, and the primary role of these officers was crime prevention rather than law enforcement. This seemingly subtle change created an implicit distinction under the law, between "police" and "civilians," that has no place in a free society.

7 posted on 08/11/2013 12:56:25 PM PDT by Alberta's Child ("I've never seen such a conclave of minstrels in my life.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

The cops are going to bust down a door someday,and the guy behind it will have a belt fed weapon and body armour.


8 posted on 08/11/2013 12:56:43 PM PDT by Farmer Dean (stop worrying about what they want to do to you,start thinking about what you want to do to them)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

Well, the cops did shoot off 250 rounds...


9 posted on 08/11/2013 12:57:24 PM PDT by null and void (Frequent terrorist attacks OR endless government snooping and oppression? Soon we'll have both!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Farmer Dean

The way the assault teams bunch up prior to entry — I’m surprised that somebody hasn’t taken out an entire team with well placed booby trap.


10 posted on 08/11/2013 12:58:30 PM PDT by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Red in Blue PA; Dutchboy88
This is a very good article that lays out the social and constitutional problems, with the exception of the author's swipes at Republican officials -- while completely omitting mention of Mayor Goode (D) burning down a city block in Philadelphia, Bill Clinton (D) and Janet Reno's massacre at Waco, and of course their Elian Gonzalez travesty, not even to mention all the dog and human shootings in their own homes that have occurred on Obama's watch.

I worked with a major metropolitan police department in one of the largest U.S. cities as a publicist some time ago. All the top brass were sent to Harvard's Kennedy School of Government for instruction in community policing, mentioned in the article, and it was very effective.

11 posted on 08/11/2013 1:00:52 PM PDT by Albion Wilde ("Remember... the first revolutionary was Satan."--Russian Orthodox Archpriest Dmitry Smirnov)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Alberta's Child

Well put.


12 posted on 08/11/2013 1:01:32 PM PDT by TauntedTiger (Keep away from the fence!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: DuncanWaring

All that over hear say...all that over a few plants...wow!

The Po Po don’t actually have to see it, just take the word of someone with perhaps an axe to grind.


13 posted on 08/11/2013 1:01:55 PM PDT by servantboy777
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

An M1 Garand would really eat into them,bunched up like that.I don’t understand what advantage they hope to get.


14 posted on 08/11/2013 1:02:37 PM PDT by Farmer Dean (stop worrying about what they want to do to you,start thinking about what you want to do to them)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Red in Blue PA

The family of Jared Francom should sue the police department for putting their loved one at risk rather than arresting him peacefully outside his job or the grocery store.


15 posted on 08/11/2013 1:05:03 PM PDT by ez (Muslims do not play well with others.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red in Blue PA

all police officers should be elected like sheriffs, that alone would fix the issue.


16 posted on 08/11/2013 1:09:59 PM PDT by TexasFreeper2009 (Obama lied .. the economy died.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red in Blue PA
acting on a tip that he was growing marijuana in his basement.

Good Lord! No wonder they stormed his home in a military style commando attack...

He should be treated like any other murdering international terrorist.

17 posted on 08/11/2013 1:13:21 PM PDT by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Alberta's Child

I think it is easier to trace the “warrior cop” to the race riots of the 60’s. that brought the advent of SWAT to deal with heavily armed militants. Then you have things like that LA bank robbery where the police went to a gun shop because they needed rifles. Add in a few city lawyers that want to reduce liability and a duty belt starts looking like Batman’s utility belt. Next thing you know the average street cop looks like an extra from Battlestar Galactica.


18 posted on 08/11/2013 1:14:01 PM PDT by USNBandit (sarcasm engaged at all times)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: ez
All this grief for a marijuana grow that may or may not have existed.Charge the ex-girlfriend with murder.
19 posted on 08/11/2013 1:15:39 PM PDT by Farmer Dean (stop worrying about what they want to do to you,start thinking about what you want to do to them)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: dragnet2

They could have save a lot of trouble by just burning the place down.


20 posted on 08/11/2013 1:15:40 PM PDT by null and void (Frequent terrorist attacks OR endless government snooping and oppression? Soon we'll have both!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-70 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson