Newtown, Conn., had been the site of one homicide in the last 13 years until a man wearing a bulletproof vest and fatigues, carrying three guns, shot his way into an elementary school and killed 26 women and children last month.
For some, such a devastating attack reinforces their belief that police should have advanced defense equipment at their disposal. For others, the inability to forecast an evil act strengthens their resolve that taxpayers should not spend millions to outfit police in low-crime areas with military-grade gear.
Comments
"a blast-resistant floor and 3-inch-thick window glass that can withstand hits from a .50-caliber rifle"? Perhaps it's foresight for the day when the NRA makes landmines and .50 machine guns common in our cities. Meanwhile, police departments could use lighter, more agile, and less expensive armored trucks, that are equipped to protect against the rifles and and handguns that are so commonly used in crimes in the US. It seems that sometimes our policies are driven more by crime drama fiction, than by the reality of crimes.
Does it get better mileage than all the $300K patrol boats purchased for all the harbormasters using anti-terror funds?
What an interesting article and one need only look briefly between the lines to find the folly in such local police expenditures. At Sandy Hook, Lanza was found dead by the initial arriving patrol officers who penetrated the crime scene fast - as police doctirne now insists - after the botched Columbine response whereby police waited for 45 minutes before beginning the sweep of the high school. Likewise, at Columbine, both of the shooters killed themselves when they heard the first sierens, all of the body armor, sniper gear, urban incident vehicles and M4s made a nice show but ...
Not to make too much of a streach - is it any wonder that a certain segment of society wants to possess assualt rifles, high capacity magazines, body armor and high powered pistols when they see the police outfitted more as a light infantry unit and less as a constabulary?
The writer should have asked for a tour of the MA State Police garages at Framingham on Route 1. He would be shocked at the military grade personnel carriers hidden from public view.
You should try serving a warrant against gang bangers armed with AK47s. Your tune would change.
And yes, you made too much of a stretch.
There is definitely a need for these vehicles but not every agency needs to have one. Regionalization and sharing of vehicles should be considered.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961: In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.
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