I was alerted today, by friends in Hamtramck, that their police force had just taken possession of an armored military assault vehicle, and I was reminded of a good conversation we had here about a year ago on the growing militarization of American police forces. If you have time, I’d encourage you to go back […]
Earlier this week, after an inquest jury essentially vindicated London police officers in the 2011 killing of 29 year old Mark Duggan, authorities announced that, henceforth, some number of London’s 2,300 firearms-carrying officers would begin wearing vest-mounted video cameras. And, as much as I consider myself a privacy advocate, and despise our ever expanding surveillance […]
The ACLU today announced that they would be launching a broad investigation into the militarization of America’s domestic police forces. As of this evening, ACLU affiliates in 23 states have signed on to assist in the investigation, and it’s thought that more will join shortly, assigning investigators and filing Freedom of Information Act requests with […]
As riot police around the country prepare to start violating civil rights and forcibly removing American citizens from their OWS encampments, I thought that I’d pass along this image that my friend Forest brought to my attention a little while ago. Taken in 1956, the photo shows a precursor of the riot gear worn by […]
