The Shooting Gallery: Police Violence MEGATHREAD

[Valmy]

Well that is good news. I guess we are on to the Grand Jury for indictments.

[HisMajestyBOB]

The Youtube algorithm is a smart cookie, today it recommended me watching this episode on "The Broken Policing System" from Hasan Minhaj's show, from last September. It touches on many of the issues that need reform, some of which we mentioned over here. Training, virtual legal inmunity, attitudes, collusion with attorneys, the role of police unions in protecting their own...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km4uCOAzrbM

I just get a bunch of Sesame Street and Baby Shark recommendations.
I really should create a separate account for my son's videos.

[Syt]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html

Send In the Troops
The nation must restore order. The military stands ready.

By Tom Cotton
Mr. Cotton, a Republican, is a United States senator from Arkansas.

This week, rioters have plunged many American cities into anarchy, recalling the widespread violence of the 1960s.

New York City suffered the worst of the riots Monday night, as Mayor Bill de Blasio stood by while Midtown Manhattan descended into lawlessness. Bands of looters roved the streets, smashing and emptying hundreds of businesses. Some even drove exotic cars; the riots were carnivals for the thrill-seeking rich as well as other criminal elements.

Outnumbered police officers, encumbered by feckless politicians, bore the brunt of the violence. In New York State, rioters ran over officers with cars on at least three occasions. In Las Vegas, an officer is in "grave" condition after being shot in the head by a rioter. In St. Louis, four police officers were shot as they attempted to disperse a mob throwing bricks and dumping gasoline; in a separate incident, a 77-year-old retired police captain was shot to death as he tried to stop looters from ransacking a pawnshop. This is "somebody's granddaddy," a bystander screamed at the scene.

Some elites have excused this orgy of violence in the spirit of radical chic, calling it an understandable response to the wrongful death of George Floyd. Those excuses are built on a revolting moral equivalence of rioters and looters to peaceful, law-abiding protesters. A majority who seek to protest peacefully shouldn't be confused with bands of miscreants.

But the rioting has nothing to do with George Floyd, whose bereaved relatives have condemned violence. On the contrary, nihilist criminals are simply out for loot and the thrill of destruction, with cadres of left-wing radicals like antifa infiltrating protest marches to exploit Floyd's death for their own anarchic purposes.

These rioters, if not subdued, not only will destroy the livelihoods of law-abiding citizens but will also take more innocent lives. Many poor communities that still bear scars from past upheavals will be set back still further.

One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain and ultimately deter lawbreakers. But local law enforcement in some cities desperately needs backup, while delusional politicians in other cities refuse to do what's necessary to uphold the rule of law.

The pace of looting and disorder may fluctuate from night to night, but it's past time to support local law enforcement with federal authority. Some governors have mobilized the National Guard, yet others refuse, and in some cases the rioters still outnumber the police and Guard combined. In these circumstances, the Insurrection Act authorizes the president to employ the military "or any other means" in "cases of insurrection, or obstruction to the laws."

This venerable law, nearly as old as our republic itself, doesn't amount to "martial law" or the end of democracy, as some excitable critics, ignorant of both the law and our history, have comically suggested. In fact, the federal government has a constitutional duty to the states to "protect each of them from domestic violence." Throughout our history, presidents have exercised this authority on dozens of occasions to protect law-abiding citizens from disorder. Nor does it violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which constrains the military's role in law enforcement but expressly excepts statutes such as the Insurrection Act.

For instance, during the 1950s and 1960s, Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson called out the military to disperse mobs that prevented school desegregation or threatened innocent lives and property. This happened in my own state. Gov. Orval Faubus, a racist Democrat, mobilized our National Guard in 1957 to obstruct desegregation at Little Rock Central High School. President Eisenhower federalized the Guard and called in the 101st Airborne in response. The failure to do so, he said, "would be tantamount to acquiescence in anarchy."

More recently, President George H.W. Bush ordered the Army's Seventh Infantry and 1,500 Marines to protect Los Angeles during race riots in 1992. He acknowledged his disgust at Rodney King's treatment — "what I saw made me sick" — but he knew deadly rioting would only multiply the victims, of all races and from all walks of life.

Not surprisingly, public opinion is on the side of law enforcement and law and order, not insurrectionists. According to a recent poll, 58 percent of registered voters, including nearly half of Democrats and 37 percent of African-Americans, would support cities' calling in the military to "address protests and demonstrations" that are in "response to the death of George Floyd." That opinion may not appear often in chic salons, but widespread support for it is fact nonetheless.

The American people aren't blind to injustices in our society, but they know that the most basic responsibility of government is to maintain public order and safety. In normal times, local law enforcement can uphold public order. But in rare moments, like ours today, more is needed, even if many politicians prefer to wring their hands while the country burns.

[DGuller]

That second Asian cop on the video was the banality of evil personified.  While Chauvin was kneeling there on Floyd's neck and on his way to orgasming, the second cop was going out of his way to ignore the bystanders' pleas, and seemed to make it a point to not even take a quick look to see what's happening to the man on the ground.  He probably regarded just merely looking behind him as an intolerable concession that would undermine the cop solidarity.

[Admiral Yi]

That second Asian cop on the video was the banality of evil personified.  While Chauvin was kneeling there on Floyd's neck and on his way to orgasming, the second cop was going out of his way to ignore the bystanders' pleas, and seemed to make it a point to not even take a quick look to see what's happening to the man on the ground.  He probably regarded just merely looking behind him as an intolerable concession that would undermine the cop solidarity.

I got the vibe from him that he felt outranked and out of place because he's park police and the other guys are regular city cops.

[Valmy]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html

That is not what the military is trained or equipt for. Surely the National Guard, which is more numerous anyway, should be sufficient.

[Barrister]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html

That is not what the military is trained or equipt for. Surely the National Guard, which is more numerous anyway, should be sufficient.

Actually after campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military does a lot of training for urban pacification and crowd management.  National Guard, on the other hand, does not.

[Valmy]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html

That is not what the military is trained or equipt for. Surely the National Guard, which is more numerous anyway, should be sufficient.

Actually after campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military does a lot of training for urban pacification and crowd management.  National Guard, on the other hand, does not.

I suppose. I just feel really bad for the military. This is not what they signed up for.

[The Brain]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html

That is not what the military is trained or equipt for. Surely the National Guard, which is more numerous anyway, should be sufficient.

Actually after campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military does a lot of training for urban pacification and crowd management.  National Guard, on the other hand, does not.

I suppose. I just feel really bad for the military. This is not what they signed up for.

The Soviet Union isn't going anywhere.

[crazy canuck]

Ok, so would Meri or CC please explain what is wrong with cops taking a group photo in front of a bank? 

Did you read the advertisement prop?

So the only thing wrong with the image is the photoshopped message then? I agree.

If you read the thread, the image is not photoshopped.  And you kind of missed the point of it being posted.  Oh well.

[crazy canuck]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html

That is not what the military is trained or equipt for. Surely the National Guard, which is more numerous anyway, should be sufficient.

Actually after campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military does a lot of training for urban pacification and crowd management.  National Guard, on the other hand, does not.

But I dont think any US military personnel have trained to pacify US cities filled with US citizens.

[Eddie Teach]

My mistake, I read that it was fake and jumped to conclusions. Carry on.

[Tamas]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html

That is not what the military is trained or equipt for. Surely the National Guard, which is more numerous anyway, should be sufficient.

The National Guard only gives fascists a semi.

[Sheilbh]

I did see an interesting observation by Nate Silver noting that in the active duty military about 40% support Trump and about 50% disapprove of him. But about 80% of police apparently support Trump. And that may be part of why we're where we are.

[Admiral Yi]

I did see an interesting observation by Nate Silver noting that in the active duty military about 40% support Trump and about 50% disapprove of him. But about 80% of police apparently support Trump. And that may be part of why we're where we are.

Not a good week for cops.