Protests revive debate about militarized police
The past week in the United States has seen largely peaceful, but sometimes violent protests across the country in the wake of George Floyd's death... and the crackdown on civil unrest has reignited a debate ... about the so-called 'militarization' of police...
"There's a continuum of how militarized they are..."
That's Human Rights Watch Senior Researcher on Criminal Justice, John Raphling. He says police will be more inclined to use the equipment... simply because they have it.
"They come in with military equipment, and that has a menacing look to it that is inappropriate for dealing with and for addressing First Amendment expression in this country...It's important to be clear to understand that policing is a militarized response to societal problems that really don't call for and are made worse by such a militarized response."
A U.S. law allows the Department of Defense to transfer surplus military equipment to city and state law enforcement agencies across the country.
Protesters have decried law enforcement officers' use of military equipment in the streets.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said it's his officers' duty to protect and defend the first amendment, until law and order needs to be restored when tensions rise.
"There are some people, that, they get in the middle of peaceful protesters and they start hurling bricks and rocks. And we've even had some gas in here that has been discharged against the police, not by the police...So, we have got to, we've got to keep our community safe, our protesters safe, but we also have to keep our officers safe. It's a very difficult proposition at times."
Trump has threatened to deploy the U.S. military to halt violence and looting in cities, that has since died down.
(TRUMP) "You have to dominate the streets."
Trump also faced scrutiny this past Monday when protesters were cleared away in front of the White House so President Donald Trump could pose with a Bible in front of a church.
Democratic lawmakers and even former military commanders have strongly criticized the use of force from Monday's incident, and Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said in a tweet:
"We've seen firsthand how DOD's 1033 program has contributed to the militarization of our police departments-leading to tanks on our streets, the erosion of police-community relations, and the escalation violence. Trump should never have reinstated this program, we must end it."
Some Democratic senators said they will pursue a legislative amendment to discontinue the program.
