Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces

by Radley Balko

Over the years, there have been too many stories to count in which a parent or spouse or friend sees a loved one breaking down or threatening to harm themselves and calls 911, thinking the response will come in the form of a counselor or perhaps an ambulance. Instead they get a SWAT team, followed by a procession of police sirens and all the attention and spectacle that comes with that. It’s just about the worst imaginable way to treat someone in crisis.

According to the Washington Post database of fatal police shootings, about 25 percent of people shot and killed by police suffered from some type of mental illness. Tellingly, such shootings were 39 percent more likely in small and medium-sized towns and cities, places less likely to budget much money for emergency mental health and more likely to rely on police as first responders.

Black motorists are more likely to be pulled over and more likely to be searched, even though searches of white motorists are more likely to turn up illegal drugs or weapons.

Multiple towns and cities have been caught shortening yellow lights—which causes more accidents—so they’ll get more red light violations and thus more revenue.

Officers’ safety comes first, and not infringing on people’s rights comes second. —PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON FRAN HEALY

Are today’s police forces consistent with the principles of a free society?

It’s hard to conclude they are. Police today are armed, dressed, trained, and conditioned like soldiers. They’re given greater protections from civil and criminal liability than normal citizens.

They’re permitted to violently break into homes, often at night, to enforce laws against nonviolent, consensual acts—and even then, often on rather flimsy evidence of wrongdoing. Negligence and errors in judgment that result in n...

Citizens who make similar errors under the same circumstances almost always face criminal...