Tag: police militarization

Everybody’s Guilty: To The Police State, We’re All Criminals Until We Prove Otherwise

“In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is getting caught.”

– Hunter S. Thompson

The burden of proof has been reversed.

No longer are we presumed innocent. Now we’re presumed guilty unless we can prove our innocence beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Rarely, are we even given the opportunity to do so.

Although the Constitution requires the government to provide solid proof of criminal activity before it can deprive a citizen of life or liberty, the government has turned that fundamental assurance of due process on its head.

Each and every one of us is now seen as a potential suspect, terrorist and lawbreaker in the eyes of the government.

Consider all the ways in which “we the people” are now treated as criminals, found guilty of violating the police state’s abundance of laws, and preemptively stripped of basic due process rights.

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Police Are Purchasing Armored Tanks For Extremist Protests, Mudslides And Avalanches

During the pandemic, police departments across the country decided that now would be a great time to acquire armored tanks. And the reasons they use to justify those purchases are infuriating.

What started out as a ludicrous reason by police in Juneau, Alaska to justify purchasing a Lenco Armored Vehicle BearCat G3, has turned into a dubious campaign used by police across the country.

Eight days ago, the Juneau Empire reported how city officials thought that if the Juneau Police Department changed the paint color of their armored tank, the public would be more willing to accept it.

“It can’t look like what we see in these pictures here,” Assembly member Christine Woll said. “It’s a small thing, but I think it helps people understand what’s coming toward them in that moment,” Woll said.

After receiving startled reactions from the public, the police department claimed that they needed a tank to protect the public from extremist protests.

“The BearCat is a customizable all-steel armored vehicle that accommodates up to 12 fully-equipped officers, and used by police departments and other agencies for everything from rescues in difficult-to-access remote areas to ‘extremist’ protests where gunfire and other threats are present.”

Using the threat of “extremist” protests as a reason to purchase an armored tank is about as absurd as it gets. Or so I thought.

The Juneau police also claimed to need an armored tank to respond to landslides and avalanches.

“The Juneau Police Department envisions using the BearCat to respond to natural disasters such as landslides and avalanches where road access is impossible for existing vehicles, as well as high-threat situations such as evacuating people from neighborhoods while under gunfire.”

Which excuse is more preposterous? I am not sure, but I think it is probably the first: protecting the public from extremist protests.  A close second, is needing tanks to respond to landslides and avalanches which stretches law enforcement’s credulity to absurd lengths.

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Cops in America Have So Much Militarized Gear, They are Sending It to Ukraine

There is no question that police in the land of the free have become the Standing Army that the founders warned us about. Armed to the teeth with tactical gear fit for the battlefield in Afghanistan, American cops are prepared for war domestically. In fact, they are over prepared, and they have so much military gear that they are now sending their surplus to be used in Ukraine to battle the Russians.

“Many of our Department of Defense (DOD) and State Department contacts have asked the law enforcement community for equipment to help the Ukrainian people push back against this violence and protect their citizens,” Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman said on Twitter — noting that his department is sending hundreds of ballistics helmets to Ukraine.

Hoffman is one of many sheriffs and law enforcement personnel sending their equipment to Ukraine to be used in war against Russia.

As VICE News reports, the Colorado Department of Public Safety said it was donating more than 80 sets of body armor and 750 helmets, and that it was accepting donations from other law enforcement agencies in the state.

“This is equipment that we are no longer able to use because it is beyond life cycle, or in some cases it may have been replaced or upgraded by some equipment that maybe better fits our needs or is safer,” Colorado DPS spokesperson Patricia Billinger told local station KARE9.

In true American political fashion, however, this move is not free from corrupt practices.

Though much of this equipment is at the end of its life cycle Hoffman said that the Pentagon is attempting to “supply more than 50,000 helmets and law enforcement supplies in the coming weeks” from a weapons manufacturer in his town — a claim the Pentagon denies.

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Militarized Police Abuse Peaceful Protesters in Ottawa After Trudeau Invokes War Powers Act

Militarized police launched a vicious assault on peaceful Freedom Convoy protesters on Friday after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked a War Powers act to suspend Canadians’ rights.

Videos shared on social media show police snipers on rooftops looking down as peaceful protesters are being abused, beaten, peppersprayed and arrested en masse.

A parliament session where Trudeau’s emergency order could have been challenged was conveniently canceled this morning “on the advice of security officials,” WSJ reported.

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