Originally posted by WATU2:
Tone Deaf OK Gov. Fallin Touts Militarization of Police
4 days ago | by
Josh Dieker
Twitter
Ferguson, Missouri provide a tragic picture of what happens when law enforcement agencies forget that their mission is to "serve and protect" rather than "abuse and oppress." Many across the country are taking a look at the images and the stories coming out of Missouri and finally asking, does the local PD really need armored combat vehicles? Do they really need weapons of war to protect suburban American cities and towns?
But not everyone is doing that kind of introspection. No indeed, Governor Mary Fallin, (R-OK) yesterday issued a press release touting the restoration of a Department of Defense program that transfers surplus military equipment to local, municipal organizations. In other words just as the nation's grownups are re-thinking putting military hardware in our city streets, Governor Fallin is jumping up and down shouting, "YAY! MOAR TANKS!"
Fortunately, Fallin may be an outlier in this national conversation. Even in her own party, there are voices of reason calling for the de-militarization of the police. Staunch conservative Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) published an Op-Ed for
Time[/I] this week pointing out that as a conservative it is his belief that the police should never be allowed to become the judge and the jury....