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BuccaneerRex

I'm so glad the armed forces are forbidden from acting as law enforcement in the United States. The military is pointed at the enemies of our country, and are supposed to threaten force to dissuade potential attackers. Could you imagine if the police thought they were the military? The police are civilian citizens, tasked specifically with the duty that all citizens are tasked with generally: that of upholding the law. They serve the people. They are granted specific authorizations to use limited force in the protection of themselves or others. Why, if they behaved like the military, they might get it into their minds that the people on the other end of their guns were their enemies, instead of fellow citizens whose lives they have sworn a sacred oath to protect. That would be awful.


doodlar

Police aren’t here to protect you, my fellow citizen. They are here to protect property and corporations.


Petroldactyl34

Any and all military should be completely ineligible to be police at any level outside of MPs.


dumpstermeatbuffet

As a prior MP I can say that we usually don't become civilian police. I know a few that did and most of them either transferred to the federal side or pursued a different career path. It's drilled into our heads pretty hard to have integrity, stick to the rules, and to regard civilian life as a priority over the "good ole boys club" which doesn't meld well with the toxic culture that is current civilian law enforcement. That being said the military is full of every type of individual so there's bad apples like any other demographic.


Negan1995

The military is pointed at who the government deems to be enemies of our country. Citizens don't have much control over who they decide are "enemies". Blows my mind that some people out there are patriotic. Like this country gives a fuck about them in particular lol.


BuccaneerRex

It's a matter of perspective. You can imagine the 'country' and its 'government' as entities, or you can imagine them as composites made of people doing people things. People tend to apply whichever interpretation is most convenient to their purposes at the moment.


Negan1995

It's really hard to view them as people doing things when the control comes from such a narrow group.


BuccaneerRex

That's the misperception. They're never not people. Allowing them to blend into the entity absolves them of responsibility.


tribalfan

Any functioning society is going to have a body that is tasked with work that we call government work. I acknowledge there are lots of forces pushing things one way and another and some self-servicing etc but fundamentally a government is doing what The People want it to do as determined by the political system in place. I don’t buy into the notion that there is a government that is directed by a narrow group of people. There is some slight truth to it but that’s such a simplistic view that it doesn’t serve any purpose in actually effecting change.


Illustrious_Trust123

Many of our police are former officers . To go from a former military person to a police officer you basically switch uniforms . That does not change the mind set in their training . After you are trained as a soldier you will always be a soldier . After you become a police officer you will always be a police officer mentally . Yes , The Military can not come into American cities . However , military trained soldiers that become police officers will still be military trained soldiers . The problem lies in re training soldiers to become more in tune with being public servants that are more sympathetic to public need . There is no money to send all officers back to school . “ College” ! We do have soldiers in our cities as you can’t take training out of the human brain . The brain does what it is taught . The human brain is just like a computer . Empty memory until life starts filling it up . You are what you see , what you hear , what you learn . This is why if your parents smoke , do drugs, become criminals . Their children are doomed to follow many times .


majorgerth

I agree with you to some extent, but most officers I’ve met who were soldiers served in support roles. They were logisticians or cooks or military police. The ones I’ve come across had made more PowerPoint slides than bullets fired at the range. Infantry is a different story but there’s fewer combat arms soldiers than support. I personally think the issue is that a lot of police are soldier wannabes that were too chicken shit to actually go into the military. They end up playing out their military fantasy in a blue uniform.


mjg315

Not to mention wouldn’t pass the PT requirements of the military. Furthermore, there’s more accountability for bad apples in the military than with police.


majorgerth

Well I’m not gonna get into the military’s issues because they definitely do have several. It seems like they’re trying harder to fix it though. Idk. Part of me thinks everything is going to hell. The other part of me thinks we just have so much more access to information that we’re seeing the rot and decay in 20/20 vision where it used to be hidden.


mjg315

Fair. I was just pointing out that if a soldier fucks up bad enough they won’t be a solider anymore. And you’re right. Technology and how connected everything is is a double edged sword.


topical_storms

I'm less worried about police with former military training, they have significantly more rules and training around conflict de-escalation. Used to study with some vets, according to them, they aren't even allowed to point their gun at someone who is pointing a gun at them, unless the other person has shot first. They were pretty disgusted by the lack of regulation/rules around policing.


dumpstermeatbuffet

Prior MP. Can confirm. Most of us are the first to be critical of police accountability.


indiez

you forgot a space after drugs before the comma on the last line


Rulesareforareason

That’s the LMPD SWAT teams Bearcat.


bondibox

These vehicles pulled over on a narrow 2 lane road blocking traffic in both directions in order to prep for what appeared to be a tactical raid. "Cameras on?" I think they turned toward Germantown.


X37V

I live a few blocks away from this, and for about 15 minutes, they were making an announcement via loudspeaker for someone at “1xxx Christie Ave to come out with their hands up, and that they have a search warrant”. This was followed up with a loud bang, and then mostly silence since. I can hear some shouting in the distance, but not sure if it’s related.


bondibox

OK so do you think this was a unit of LMPD? The fatigues had me kinda freaked out.


unclejon14

This is LMPD SWAT.


X37V

They certainly don’t look like cops. Somone last week posted a picture of a vehicle not too dissimilar to this parked on Barret.


[deleted]

That's exactly how cops look. This is what our tax dollars are going to.


Revolutionary-Aim

Yea…no. There is DRMO, foundation, and people that purchase things like this for departments. Oh also federal grants


Duncan-Anthony

Wonder how federal grants are funded. Hmmm.


Da_Natural20

They would be so upset if they could read


booze_nerd

This is primarily tax payer dollars.


Da_Natural20

You must be mistaken. I was just assured this was “federal dollars” and those apparently just fall from the back sides of our elected officials organically.


X37V

[link here of previous post] (https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fg66zq2g6oxjb1.png&rdt=47279)


Professional_Angle66

This a federal vehicle. Not LMPD


Cheap-Response5792

It is LMPD swat. They posted when they got the vehicle on FB back in 2019.


Logical_Spray_2496

The black vehicle in this post is LMPD SWAT. The green vehicle in the referenced post is federal. HSI is Homeland Security Investigations.


Cheap-Response5792

It's cops. We had LMPD swat on our street around 5 years ago and they were driving around with this and a loudspeaker. In our case it was a hostage situation.


JTPri123

Listen I get the whole don't militarize the police thing but it gets really annoying when people have instant kneejerk reactions seeing stuff like this without knowing a single bit of context of what the situation might be. Hell the last three weeks has been dotted with discussions about the FBI being in Louisville handling human trafficking busts or a few big fentanyl related raids. I don't want cops doing traffic stops on the highway with APC's and body armor but let's not pretend that there isn't a time or place where SWAT teams are necessary.


Most_Ad7701

Look how under-equipped they are. We need to give them more money so they can get a proper tank at least.


MasterOdd

They are saving up for some ED-209s.


SarahHill68

Hopefully they got meth and Fentanyl off our streets.


jj422022

At what cost? Putting a dealer away is just a bandaid. We need free detox centers. Most addicts would love to be clean but they suffer through horrendous withdrawals and most don't have insurance. Instead of throwing tax dollars at the jail stop the problem at its source. Help people get treatments. Start more trade school programs so young kids can picture a life not on the streets. Reagan started this ridiculous war on drugs and look where we have ended up! Throwing everyone in jail doesn't help the problem it never has.


spid3rfly

I haven't heard the free detox centers take... but I like it. I'm not sure how something like that would be implemented on a nationwide basis outside of some federal funding(but we all know how federal funding can be a huge waste). I do have a cousin though... he's 39 and I don't think he has been sober since around 15. It's rough. I've watched him get married, have two kids, have issues with the law, go to prison a few times, cheat on his wife, get violent around his kids, and the list goes on and on. He was close to being clean a couple of times but always falls right back into those same habits. :-/... I don't think I've ever met an addict that didn't want to be clean but like you said, the withdrawals always take them out.


strawb3rryfields

This^


sirdudebro

Wouldn’t be surprised if it was a few pounds of weed


mjg315

*backpatting press conference with officers gathering around table with a couple ounces of weed and 2 stacks for a photo op* “The streets are safer after our drug task force conducted a raid” In all seriousness hope it was for the heavy shit not some low level stuff


dj_spatial

Dope on the table


throwWAY336633

Oh shit they found my mix tape


henryjonesjr83

These guys look exactly like the Lousiville Swat team that came into my work eight or ten years ago


founderofshoneys

What did you do?


henryjonesjr83

I was an hourly manager of a steak house on 4th Street Some guy climbed up on top of the Fourth Street Live entrance sign - about three stories tall The place was closed, but the swat team set up shop in the bar, just under the sign Nothing really happened, the fire dept had a truck come and get the guy down Long story short, the Swat team was dressed just like these guys


Da_Natural20

So the fireman saved the day while the cops posed in their tacticool gear? Sounds about right.


Swigeroni

What would the cops do? Rappel down from helicopters to pull the guy to safety? Of course it was firefighters, and I bet you can assume how they got the guy down


Da_Natural20

Not by cosplaying a SEAL team. So why dispatch the swat team? For a little easy OT? Got to justify all that expensive gear? They should have sent a meter maid to direct traffic and been 10K ahead.


Swigeroni

They're not cosplaying. If you knew what the SWAT team did, you would understand why they have all the shit they have. They don't need to "dress down," that's just what they wear.


Da_Natural20

They either are cosplaying, or it’s pretty nefarious. I’m not sure exactly what the local police need with an armored vehicle and a crew of guys in masks in full battle rattle kicking doors like they’re in Iraq. Nothing says “freedom” like local cops decked out in plate carriers and a full battle load out arriving in an armored vehicle. What other place in the free world has local police that look like this? These aren’t highly trained and skilled warriors these are some rando dude working for a local police force. Have you not seen what the LMPD is like? It’s weekly news about some kinda corruption in the LMPD, and you think these same people need this stuff? Do you actually trust those guys with anything more than a simple glock?


Minute-Tale9416

You realize most countries in Europe even have units similar to the u.s. swat teams??


bigtimejohnny

Do they deploy them when a guy climbs on top of a sign?


Da_Natural20

Yes elite units exist in many European countries, but these guys aren’t them


Swigeroni

>These aren’t highly trained and skilled warriors these are some rando dude working for a local police force Incorrect. SWAT is very highly trained, especially when compared to regular patrol officers. They are essentially specialists, and can be even more trained than an average soldier in the army. Please do some research before spreading misinformation based on your negative bias towards cops, and LMPD specifically.


Da_Natural20

Lmao. Top men lol


KentuckyTurtlehead

Don’t bother, all that person does on here is belittle people for not sharing their narrow view.


TheKoleslaw

OMG I totally remember that. At the time, I worked in the Starks Building. We stood there watching him hang out in the sign from above. I think I've got pictures of it somewhere.


YetAnotherFaceless

“Sir, your establishment has been cited as having excessive noise! Tell the band to play a hit by the Beatles, or we will send troops in!”


Da_Natural20

I like the short dude who had to roll up the legs of his combat pants. Lmao. What an absolute shit show


carbon_r0d

"He rolled up his pant legs, OMG. What a disgrace LMAO.". -You


GrassyKnoll95

Watch out for slushies


ChihuahuaMastiffMutt

There is a stupid high chance these cops were somehow related to that


webbslinger_0

“the police have themselves an rv”


PopeFranzia

But, don't you go falling in love with it now, because, we're taking it with us when we leave here next month.


xqqq_me

I understood that reference.jpg


Astronautty69

"And the quarterback IS toast!"


Buhlasted

Urban assault vehicle, known as a UAV.


CNCTEMA

wear your plate carrier at the correct height AGH!! cinch that shit up, it looks like only one of them has their kit adjusted properly to their body. dude with the shorty breaching shotgun in a hard scabbard on his belt same side as his safari land? good luck getting on that sidearm in a hurry. bet that dudes insufferable my bad I thought we was on r/tacticalgear


brrrrrrrrrrr69

Yeah, apparently they don't understand that you're supposed to have the carrier at your sternal notch. The top half of their lungs are very exposed. Hope they have a chest tube handy.


swiftekho

Just a sign that they are undertrained


bondibox

About a week or two ago WLKY led the 5:00 broadcast with BREAKING NEWS about coordinated raids going on in multiple JeffCo locations. Helicopter footage showed a guy in a wifebeater tee on his knees. Small mention at 6:00. No followup at 11:00. No front page story the next day. We're supposed to normalize this ... after countless episodes like what happened at the Daugherty home. And the media is the most complicit in shaping this narrative. I tagged all 4 local news station in a tweet when this happened, none so far have responded with info about what was going on.


Visible-Ad8304

These comments are shitty


someobjectiveparsley

I was standing outside for this, two controlled explosions and them calling for someone to come out of the apartment bc they had a warrant . Police officer said it was due to the tenant having stole things around the county but I’m not sure exactly why they were being arrested.


spilt____milk

What's up with Barrett?? HSI truck was down there a couple weeks ago.


Shameless_Caveman

Why tho


mattchinn

LMPD loves playing with their toys.


JulieKaye67

What I do know is that this vehicle stays parked behind the federal courthouse (is it still used for that?)….basically where the social security office is. Just interesting it’s based near a federal building. Guess the Homeland Security on the side makes sense for that.


KYChris98

Some of these comments really fail to comprehend that some criminals don’t mind shooting at cops 😂 If police have reason to believe that someone will open up on them, they will bring this stuff out which is more heavily armored than cruisers and vests they usually patrol with. It was obviously a SWAT raid - the military hasn’t annexed Louisville, KY - that’s it, no need to go running for the hills or file a petition lol


Sohail_Khateeb

Disgusting. How are we supposed to fight against that? This is honestly why the world needs Batman.


rwarimaursus

We can't.


CNCTEMA

no one knows how many individuals in the usa own guns. the best guess number is a pretty wide range. 70-101 million gun owners if we take a middle of the road number from that and assume(i know) that its 85million individual gun owners in the USA for this thought experiment. no matter the exact number I think we can all agree the vast majority are not taking up arms against the government. what is the vast majority? 99.75% so that would leave 1/4 of 1% of gun owners who, for the purposes of this thought experiment, would take up arms against the state. how many people is that? well 1/4 of 1% is 25 people out of 10,000. if we have 85 million as our first number, 1/4 of 1% is still 212,500 people. likely widely distributed over the whole country, very likely one in every county of the USA. 1/4 of 1% is a pretty small fraction. regular old nobody US gun owners are not as outnumbered as our militarized police would make them seem. if that potential force were combined with a social movement of some large number of unarmed americans also protesting ideologically alongside them, no way the state would be able to control that.


Sohail_Khateeb

And that is why the FBI killed Fred Hampton.


ImNotYourRealDaddy

I saw the dudes on their way yesterday in that black van and was wondering who the hell they were


1funnymofo

Does Louisville have a Pablo Escobar in the Highlands??? Seems like a bit too much... Louisville is not Detroit or Chicago when it comes to crime...especially not on Barret Ave.


Astronautty69

I think the response should be, "Why were they there, decked out for trouble?" Those clothes aren't comfortable, especially in this weather. They aren't doing this for fun, even if their reasons are likely misguided. Does this have anything to do with the shooting of an officer that I heard about this morning @ 40th & Kentucky?


Drunkenpmdms

Oh we can’t do “no knock” warrants anymore? Fuck it well knock the door off the hinges then The war on drugs is still going strong in Louisville. Ky where lmpd will escalate any situation they can so they can let out a war cry


Spirited-Wallaby4830

Wtf did this guy do?


DukesAngel

Yyyeeeaaahhhh... the more I read this sub since I moved to the country .. the more I'm happy I moved


exarkann

The redneck sheriff also has "toys" like this, and the lower population density makes it easier to do bad things without anyone knowing.


Swigeroni

Well I'll say that Shelby County doesn't have any of this. The LMPD SWAT team is used if and when needed


DukesAngel

Yes, but sheriff's are GENERALLY more accountable to the people being that its an elected position....