Military Dehumanization

The militarization of the police is becoming more and more prevalent issue in our society. There are positives and negatives to this issue, but in my opinion it is a negative occurrence. Excessive use of force further divides police and community, which eventually may lead to severe consequences that may be irreparable.

In the film, Do Not Resist, Craig Atkinson illustrates the use of military weapons being issued to police; in addition, the differences of “Warrior” and “Guardian” mentalities in law enforcement. A warrior mentality, as described in Atkinson’s film, is referred to the mental tendencies of soldiers, focusing more on protection. Warrior mentality in officers is used to combat extreme situations, like terrorists attacks or hostage situations. On the other hand, guardian mentalities are focused more on serving the community more than protecting. Law enforcement officers have both the warrior and guardian concepts, some officers have more warrior than guardian while others have guardian more than warrior. It is important to understand the difference between the mentalities. To understand we see which communities have higher crime rates than others and see the kind of funds spent on weaponizing police. With those factors one can deduce what law enforcement stations have the ‘warrior’ persona. At what point do we say “enough is enough”, and take away big brother’s toys? As a nation, we’re only strong united. As the great JFK so powerfully said during the Civil War, “United we stand, divided we fall.” Our division of law enforcers, people of color, political affiliation, and other factors will be this society's inevitable downfall. Today’s society’s annihilation is inevitable because we do not have the proper leaders to guide this nation into prosperity.

Force that police tend to use on subjects that pose a threat has become an escalating issue in society today as we know it. Sometimes the public gets the notion that the police abuse their authority and use dangerous

Law enforcement officers are given much power and authority over one’s civil liberties. Not only do they have a duty but also a responsibility to enforce laws and ordinances in their jurisdiction, maintain order and protect its people. In some cases, the only way to accomplish this is through legitimized use of force. Use of force can best be described as "the amount of effort required by a law enforcement officer to induce compliance of an unwilling subject" (nij.gov, 2012). With that said, law enforcement officers have been given the right to apply only enough force necessary to control a situation, while defending others, preventing escape, during self-defense and while a subject is resisting arrest (Pollock, pp. 234). It is not until that force becomes excessive that it becomes say an issue.

When local police departments receive the new military gear, the tendency of them relying on it even in situations that do not have any real threat to the officer or their safety increases. This has been called "the rise of the warrior cop" (Balko). Social psychological research and anecdotal evidence from law enforcement specialists suggest that militarized policing can escalate situations that could have ended peacefully (Singal). There are already a lot of cases of police violence all around the country and not all of the country’s police forces have received military weaponry. There would be more cases like Michael Brown, Laquan McDonald, and Ronald Johnson, where it could have ended peacefully with the person in custody. Instead, they are dead and their deaths have fueled riots and protests all across the nation. These events bring with a lot of negative media for police departments and for the ones in charge of them. If officers were to carry more advanced and deadly weaponry, it will lead to more cases as these. This would be due to the "weapons effect" which states that the presence of weapons fuel more aggressive behavior (Singal). By having the local police carrying these heavy duty weapons, they will be more prone to exhibiting aggressive behavior and lead to more cases like the ones previously mentioned. Bruce Bartholow, a social psychologist at the

Rise of the Warrior Cop, by Radley Balko, centers around police in the United States and how it has gone through militarization throughout the years. Militarization is a process in which the police departments take on tactics that are similar to the tactics used by the military. Police forces were initially made to make our environment a safer place to live in. In this book, Balko explains how that has changed. Practices of policing first began when people would get hired, unofficially, to keep slaves under control and catch them if they try to run away. These people were sometimes known as slave catchers. Soon it evolved into formal policing, allowing police to catch criminals and make the neighborhood safe. However, today it is not so much about catching criminals; it involves a lot of violence and Balko questions whether this is even constitutional. In his writing, Balko brings awareness to the horrible tactics police are using in today’s society and how we could fix it.

Have you ever thought about what happens if a person breaks a law? What if this individual breaks a minor law and creates a larger problem? A strong topic is upon our society when it comes to law enforcement and the tough physical and verbal oppression that they have the potential to put on people when it comes to breaking the law. Police officers are supposed to be society 's saviors, guardians, and our friends. However, when things do not go quite right, and when someone breaks the law, there will always be that chance that things could escalate. These officers are supposed to deescalate situations and solve problems. That is what society relies on them at any given moment. Sometimes it takes an escalation of force to deescalate a criminal situation. This is why society sees the men and women in uniform with weapons capable of hindering life to the fullest. However, when this force is used and abused, it creates problems. The public eye becomes weary of the police in many different ways for using excessive force to deescalate a situation. Excessive force and police brutality are often caused by depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, as well as other mental disorders; due to the way they are portrayed by the media, excessive force and police brutality have a direct effect on the American society as well as fellow officers in all branches of law enforcement.

The militarization of police is essentially the use of military equipment and tactics by law enforcement officers. This can include the use of such things as assault rifles, submachine guns, armored personnel carriers, flashbang grenades, grenade launchers, sniper rifles, and special weapons and tactics teams (SWAT). The militarization of police is a point of concern for both Democrats and Republicans in the United States and has a long history dating back to the late 19th century. History of Police Militarization in the United States: Late 19th Century

You can either Lose Yourself or gain a new persona. "He is right we are not youth any more. We don't want to take the world by storm. We are fleeing. We fly from ourselves. From our life. We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces. " (Remarque, 87) . The dehumanizing effects of war is the main problem in the novel by civilians in this society need to sacrifice themselves, situations in the economic economic systems, and destruction of the environment which is seen throughout the novel " Al Quiet On The Western Front" the author is Erich Maria Remarque.

This is another concern Americans have because the police are often equipped with powerful weapons and are given the ability to use their best judgement to handle situations. With the lack of training in nonviolent situations, police will rely on what they know which is standing behind a powerful gun. When the police rely on standing behind their guns during heated situations, the odds of using those powerful weapons increases and the odds of misusing their weapons increases. Unfortunately, majority of the time the police have little to no consequences for misconduct which is a concern to many Americans. According to the website, Mapping Police Violence, 99% of cases in 2015 have not resulted in officers being convicted of a crime.

The use of excessive force by police officers is a topic that continues to make headlines and a study that needs to be done. Although much research has gone into this topic there still is no consensus on why the use of excessive force occurs. Some studies suggest lack of training and/or problems with organization policy/procedures. Law enforcement officers are authorized to use force when necessary, but when the level of force is excessive, however, the actions of the police come under scrutiny. The resulting effects can include; public outrage, scandal, negative reputation for not only the officer but the law enforcement community, and criminal considerations. Although there’s is no concrete definition of excessive force, police

Armed police are required to become skilled at responding to events that demand the use of firearms (Fyfe, 1981). Arguments arise from the public's failure to recognise the police’s difficulty in making a straightforward judgment as to whether coercive force or the use of guns is required in events (Dick, 2005). When police do use guns, there is a risk that police may misfire and consequently cause more victims as a result (McCulloch, 1989). Furthermore, in circumstances that require force, natural biological impulses kick in; informally known as the fight or

Police and community relations has always been a work in progress, some communities are more challenging than others. There are various factors that impact the relationship police have with civilians such as geographical location, race, gender, personal experience and in personal ones as well. In the last few years police and the African American community on a national level been more disconnected due to a pattern of unforeseen circumstances of unarmed black men being shot and killed by officers, that end up serving no jail or repercussion besides paid administrative leave. Police brutality is defined by The Law Dictionary as the use of force used unnecessarily. “Force that is used beyond what is necessary to handle the

with military grade weapons consequently provokes officers to act as soldiers rather than peacekeepers. The BLM movement advocates for the government to reduce and or cease the distribution of military weaponry to local police departments. Finally, they’ve also counselled a solution for direct injustice

Results from this study suggest that when people, such as police officers, are given the authority to use whatever force deemed necessary by an authority such as the police department, they feel justified using their “power” however they feel. David Lester conducted a study in which he found police officers attain an “expectation of harm” through their schooling at police academies (Lester 186). Lester found “shifts in…attitudes during both academy training and the period of working” (Lester 186) to officers being less willing to admit to the existence of police brutality. It seems that the departments do not see the occurrences as brutal, but as self-defense.