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"SWAT teams don't diminish the risk of violence"Officially escalating violence in
America
As you know, I've been following Radley Balko's
crusade against the misuse of SWAT teams. Well, he outdoes himself
today.
"Tactical officers" is a eumpemism for SWAT team. So yes, the Fairfax County police department dispatched the SWAT team to arrest an optometrist suspected of gambling. They had their guns drawn. The descended upon him. And one of them killed him. Fairfax police can talk all they want about a "thorough investigation." But whether the officer has his finger on or near the trigger, whether he tripped or was bumped, or whether or not his gun was faulty -- frankly, none of that means a damn thing. A 37-year-old man is dead because the Fairfax County police department, like police departments all over the country, is sending SWAT teams to serve gambling warrants. And nonviolent drug warrants. And a host of other warrants. Lt. Perez is wrong. SWAT teams don't diminish the risk of violence. They escalate it. In rare situations -- hostage crises, barricades, or violent crimes-in-process, for example -- escalation is necessary to stave off immediate harm. In inherently nonviolent, routine police work -- like serving warrants on optometrists -- they're needlessly provocative and dangerous. A growing pile of bodies testifies to that. And until spineless lawmakers put an end to this idiocy (and yes, risk being called "soft on crime" as a result), the pile is only going to get larger. To be very honest, I don't see why most of these smaller cities need SWAT teams. As Mr. Balko has pointed out, once a SWAT team exists, it has to be used for something. Why are the police more heavily armed while there is a push to disarm the citizens? Why are so many willing to overlook the excesses and abuses of the SWAT teams? Why is criticism of all these SWAT teams ignored? Why are SWAT teams being used for routine police work? 
Posted: Thu - January 26, 2006 at 05:25 PM
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 Pagan Vigil
Pagan philosopher, libertarian, and part-time trouble maker, NeoWayland watches for threats to individual freedom or personal responsiblity. There's more to life than just black and white, using only extremes just increases the problems.  My Thinking Blogger Nominees
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