I know it’s a little weird what’s happening to modern police. They used to look like cops and do cop things, now they look like soldiers and run around with armor and armored vehicles and assault rifles. But I think we’re suffering from some cohort amnesia. If something like this happened thirty years ago, both of the suspects would have been armed to the hilt and there wouldn’t have been any negative media coverage.
As law enforcement has professionalized, they’ve made a stronger presence, but they’ve also improved substantially in the civil rights and ethics departments. The “thin blue line” is a shadow of what it once was… it’s more like a blurry purplish haze, depending on where you are. Fellow officers are about as likely to out you for corruption as watch your back. You can’t hide shit like you used to; everyone has cameras, the penalties are way more severe, your fellow officers will rat you out to save their own asses.
The days of ignoring civil rights laws are over. Do some officers still push the boundaries in some areas? Absolutely- but they used to operate with abandon. See a “DB?” Go shove that mother****er against a wall and search him down. If it ever became an issue, we’ll just call up Terry and flip you the bird. Not anymore: you get sued, and lose, for that shit, now. A couple of decades ago, cops still kicked in doors in shitty neighborhoods. Without a warrant. Just POP, Hello! They didn’t do it in full tactical gear (which probably helped keep that kind of thing under the radar longer), but they did it.
I don’t know everything. I know there are still problems. It’s a work in progress, and I hope it just gets better from here. I’m not sure what to make of this “militarization” of police: yes, it’s disturbing, but spitting my civil rights in my face is worse, and there’s not nearly as much of that, now.
Some people seem a bit too anti. Maybe try to look at it from the side, a little? These 23 cops went crazy, yes. My guess is that cross fire convinced them they were taking fire from the suspect. Keep in mind, these guys are civilians: maybe some of them have seen combat, but none of them woke up that morning thinking they’d be in a full-blown gun fight. They’re not really equipped for that sort of thing.
Jesus Christ I’ve never seen such a group of untrained buffoons. What the hell where they thinking. It’s a miracle no innocent children or bystanders where shot. There is no excuse for that amount of unaccountability for your rounds, there not in a war zone.
Also correct. If you live below sea level next to the sea inside a bowl you have demonstrated a lack of common sense. Decisions may need to be made for you to extend your life.
In my last In Service DT class, the one thing our instructor hammered home is the fact that the two biggest killers of LEOs are complacency and denial. If you carry a gun and wear body armor for a living then you should anticipate a gun fight, today might just be that day. Miami and Dade CO have been the Wild West for a long time, there are multiple “realtiy TV” shows based there like SWAT: Miami-Dade. If you watch that show you could swear that you were watching some UN peace keeping force in some third world shit hole.
As for not being equipped (I don’t know about Miami Dade) but the vast majority of LEAs have “patrol carbines” in their squads and “active shooter kits” in their trunks, many of which are purchased by the individual LEO. That is the world we live in now.
I think all of us can look back to all the carbine and pistol training we had and instantly see how this incident is a great example of what “shooters” should strive for. Good stuff!
Before this thread gets locked, can you imagine what would happen to a mere person who fired 1/100th the number of rounds at two people, one of whom they were unaware of and who had not assaulted them, hit several occupied homes, and endangered an entire neighborhood?
Waco.
Ruby Ridge.
Boston.
LA (Dorner).
VA (busted at gunpoint for bottled water)
NM (illegal cavity search, no drugs found).
TX (same as above, multiple times).
All you have to do is watch Cops and you will see every other episode is from Dade and Broward counties down here. Being a cop in south Florida is no walk in the park.
To want to get “even” is human nature I guess…but when your a police officer and do this, I just see you as another gang. The only thing being protected and served here was their own desires, it damn sure wasn’t the public at that exact time. I have no problem with putting the bad guys in a box, but that was gang activity by LEO. jmo