by smallpoxgirl » Fri 25 Sep 2009, 22:39:42
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Koyaanisqatsi', 'T')hat's the crux of the issue, isn't it? If I'm ever walking down the street and an unmarked car swings in from nowhere, four goons in military garb hop out and hustle my companion by force inside, and then speed away, I'll know not to worry because they are probably police and it is all perfectly legal.
I'm not questioning that this is the case, but how does it work? What if that guy were a blackbelt and took out one of the cops? He could have claimed he didn't know they were police. What is the "legal" argument against him?
They actually are wearing ID cards in those pouches on their arms, but I'm sure that argument could be made. In a situation like that their basic assumption is that you're not going to comply one way or the other, so they're trying to bring maximum force down on you as abruptly as possible to minimize your resistance. Where this approach becomes even more poignant is with no-knock warrants. Police have grown exceedingly fond of busting down doors in the middle of the night and swarming in to serve arrest warrants. There have been instances where the police did that and the homeowner/arrestee thought he was being robbed and shot the police. Undoubtedly there have been countless such situations where such confusion lead to the arrestee being killed without much publicity. The real problem, IMHO, with dressing cops up in fatigues is that they start to forget who they are. Cops who dress like soldiers, carry soldier's weapons, cut their hair like soldiers, strut around like soldier, they start acting like soldiers. They get too focused on tactics and forget public relations. Invading another country is not the same thing as policing your fellow citizens. The two require very different attitudes and approaches. IMHO, there are far too many cops out there trying to play soldier and making us the de facto enemy combatants.