Free Republic

<p>As the U.S. engages in a national debate over the militarization of the police, federal data shows that government agencies charged with largely administrative roles are spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to purchase SWAT and military-style equipment.</p> <p>Since FY 2006, 44 traditionally administrative agencies have spent over $71 million on items like body armor, riot helmets and shields, cannon launchers and police firearms and ammunition, according to federal spending data from watchdog group OpenTheBooks.com.</p>

Dog shot dead by SWAT team during alleged dispute over neighborhood dog waste • A small dog was filmed being shot by advancing police officers in Racine, Wisc. on Saturday after police were called about violent threats made by the dog's owner, said a neighbor. Police Chief Art Howell said the owner threatened to kill the officers with an armor-piercing crossbow before setting his dog loose. A SWAT team sent to handle an alleged neighborhood dispute over dog waste ended up killing the dog, and igniting a firestorm of criticism against the local police force. In dramatic video capturing the...

President Barack Obama on Saturday said the widespread mistrust of law enforcement that was exposed by the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man in Ferguson, Missouri, is corroding America, not just its black communities, and that the wariness flows from significant racial disparities in the administration of justice. Speaking at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual awards dinner, Obama said these suspicions only harm communities that need law enforcement the most....

The rioting, protests and controversy continue to swirl around Ferguson this weekend, and you will no doubt be reading plenty of coverage from both sides about it. But in the background, a disturbing, larger national conversation has erupted out of the troubles in the St. Louis suburb. The hot topic everywhere seems to be a growing call to halt the so called “militarization” of the nation’s civilian police forces, highlighted by the riot suppression gear on display in Ferguson. It’s an argument coming from both sides of the ideological spectrum, too. The IBD editorial board warns us to “beware” of...

Ontario's police watchdog has laid charges in a Toronto streetcar shooting that resulted in the death of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim. Yatim was shot while brandishing a knife on board an empty streetcar last month, while in a standoff with police. As many as 23 police officers were at the site of the shooting, according to the Ontario Special Investigations Unit. Video of the incident captured the moment when nine gunshots were fired, including several once Yatim had collapsed to the ground. The SIU allege a conductive energy device was also used on the victim while he was being subdued.

Once upon a time, the police were one of the most respected institutions in America, but now most Americans fear them. Almost every single day there are multiple stories of police brutality or misconduct that make the national news. Just this week, there have been stories about police killing a baby deer at an animal shelter, about police killing a 95-year-old World War II veteran in a retirement home, and about police using legal technicalities to “legally” steal massive amounts of money from innocent citizens. Why are police acting like this? Why have police in America turned into such ruthless...

The front page of last Tuesday's Richmond Times-Dispatch carried a startling photo: Richmond police officers taking a suspect into custody. What was startling was the display of force. The officers, accompanied by a robot and decked out in full riot gear with shield and combat helmets, could have been mistaken for American soldiers on patrol in Iraq. Yet they were going up against a single man—and they were not even sure was armed. Regrettably, this is not a new development. In recent years police forces across the country have become increasingly militarized. To a small degree, that trend represents a...

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN9-TV) - A decorated Marine's family cannot believe their loved one, who served two tours of duty overseas, is gone; never expecting him to die here at home at the hands of law enforcement. A Pima County Sheriff's Department SWAT team shot and killed Jose Guerena eight days ago; it was executing a search warrant. Four days ago, in a news conference, a sheriff's deputy said the department makes it clear when SWAT is about to enter a home. Lt. Michael O'Connor says SWAT says it never wants to be mistaken for other people, "We had our large...

The wife of a Tucson man killed in a Pima County SWAT raid May 5 pleaded for five minutes with 911 dispatchers to send an ambulance for her mortally wounded husband, audio records show. Often through tears and sometimes in broken English, Vanessa Guerena, tells 911 operators that her husband had been shot by a "bunch of people" who opened the door of their southwest-side home and "just shoot him." Meanwhile, dispatchers worked to determine if she was calling from a house where the SWAT team was serving a search warrant, audio released Friday by Drexel Heights Fire Department reveals....

To hear them tell it, the officers who apprehended 39-year-old David Pyles on March 8 thwarted a mass murder. The cops “were able to successfully take a potentially volatile male subject into protective custody for a mental evaluation,” the Medford, Oregon, police department announced in a press release. The subject had been placed on administrative leave from his job not long before, was “very disgruntled,” and had recently purchased several firearms. “Local Law Enforcement agencies were extremely concerned that the subject was planning retaliation against his employers,” the press release said. Fortunately, Pyles “voluntarily” turned himself over to police custody,...