I for one support my state Sheriff's Association, with money. Not everyone is a black and white blockhead Dane, you're projecting again.
The problem is we have undertrained, easily frightend, urban Rambo wannabe cowboys using military weapons when the situation doesn't call for such.
Arming police in such a fashion was needed, as they were outgunned in certain violent situations such as a hostage standoff etc. Now we have weapons that I was trained with to kill foriegn enemies being used on a day to day basis in such operations as collecting contraband and making garden variety arrests. The pendulum has swung too far.
In 1993 'only 2 percent of civilian shootings involved an innocent person mistakenly identified as a criminal. The 'error rate' for the police, however, was 11 percent, more than five times as high.
Newsweek, November 15, 1993
Citizens shoot and kill at least twice as many criminals as police do every year (1,527 to 606).
Kleck, Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America, (1991):111-116, 148.
What you are saying here is rather disparaging about the people you claim to support. The issue isn't what weapons are used but training. Under stress you will revert to training. If you have to rely on your thought process panic sets in and all proper proceedures go out the window.
I'm confident this agent was improperly trained. That's true of the majority of law enforcement personnel on the streets - including federal agents.