The ongoing clashes between residents of Ferguson, MO and heavily armed police forces - which are equipped with M16 rifles and armored vehicles - have drawn attention to the increasing militarization of police in the United States. Here are the '*alternative*' cases *for and against outfitting local law enforcement with military-grade weapons*...*PROS*
· Same tactics used successfully in Afghanistan, Iraq
· Modern law enforcement simply cannot do their job properly by relying on handguns, tasers, and tear gas alone
· A real shot in arm for nation’s ailing weapons industry
· Look on driver’s face when tank pulls up beside Mini Cooper always fun
· Local photojournalists now able to capture fog of war at home
· Nice surprise treat for veterans to see weapons they used in war pop up on their hometown streets
· Never a bad idea to put a more powerful gun in someone’s hand
· Actually going to seem pretty quaint when compared with police armaments 20 years from now
*CONS*
· Most police officers have proven fully capable of violently subduing protesters without any military-grade weapons
· It actually very hard to recite Miranda rights while holding 40-pound grenade launcher
· There no longer any middle ground between community watch and military
· Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles only get 5 miles per gallon
· Jesus, just look at this shit
· Military-style helmets limit peripheral vision while firing indiscriminately into crowd
· Could potentially be abused if put in lesser hands than America’s historically honest and virtuous police departments
· Takes away that personal touch of beating a suspect to death with bare hands
Fact or Fiction...
Source: The Onion Reported by Zero Hedge 11 hours ago.