The Patriot Post® · Congress Tackles Police Militarization

Both sides of the congressional aisle return to Capitol Hill this week with ideas on how to do something, something, in response to the riots in Ferguson. According to The Hill, both Left and Right will try to turn back the tide of police militarization, as the community constable has turned into a small, standing army. In a short history of SWAT units, The Wall Street Journal writes, “Americans have long been wary of using the military for domestic policing. Concerns about potential abuse date back to the creation of the Constitution, when the founders worried about standing armies and the intimidation of the people at large by an overzealous executive, who might choose to follow the unhappy precedents set by Europe’s emperors and monarchs.” The Hill is pessimistic on the outcome of this political move. While both sides of the aisle agree something must be done, time is short and the divisions in Congress are deep. More…