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The Inside Story on Police Militarization

The Inside Story on Police Militarization
Mon, 7/30/2012 - by Al Jazeera

Extreme police tactics are not a new phenomenon in the U.S. But in the age of social media, police violence, such as the shooting of unarmed people and the use of pepper spray and taser guns, are being documented for the world to see. Occupy protesters throughout the country felt the full force of police tactics - many are subject to violent arrest.

It is more than 20 years since the beating of Rodney King was caught on video and the footage shocked the world. But two decades later, how much has changed? Police in Anaheim shot and killed Manuel Diaz, an unarmed man who they said was running from them; local residents say the Latino men were victims of racial profiling and an overly aggressive police force. Anaheim's mayor says federal officials have agreed to investigate the shootings. But the city, where there have been six fatal police shootings this year, is now being compared to a powder keg.

So is policing in the U.S. becoming increasingly militarized? To discuss this, Inside Story Americas, with presenter Shihab Rattansi, is joined by guests: Jumana Musa, a human rights lawyer who is deputy director of the Rights Working Group; Gustavo Arellano, the editor of the OC Weekly, a newspaper that has been covering the shootings; and Raymond Lewis, a retired Philadelphia police captain who was arrested by New York police while taking part in the Occupy Wall Street protests last year.

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Article Tabs

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This last month has shown America that society will gladly tolerate vigilante violence, provided a vigilante chooses the right target.

It is not hyperbole to say that the world’s richest man has now illegally seized control of America’s checkbook and the entire federal workforce.

Over the next four years, we’re about to be inundated with a flood of lies—including from federal agencies themselves.

We have to be smart in how we fight against Trump and the Republican Party this time around. That means picking our battles wisely, and not taking bait that’s dangled in front of our faces.

The way the urban commons create a space to solve material problems and enable social movements to forge city-wide networks are antidotes to people being attracted towards the far-right.

Over the next two years, Democrats have the unfettered ability to be an albatross around the neck of the GOP — and to make sure that what little they manage to get done due to their paper-thin majorities becomes the reason for their undoing.

This last month has shown America that society will gladly tolerate vigilante violence, provided a vigilante chooses the right target.

Posted 1 month 4 weeks ago

Over the next two years, Democrats have the unfettered ability to be an albatross around the neck of the GOP — and to make sure that what little they manage to get done due to their paper-thin majorities becomes the reason for their undoing.

Posted 1 month 12 hours ago

Over the next four years, we’re about to be inundated with a flood of lies—including from federal agencies themselves.

Posted 1 week 1 day ago

We have to be smart in how we fight against Trump and the Republican Party this time around. That means picking our battles wisely, and not taking bait that’s dangled in front of our faces.

Posted 2 weeks 2 days ago

The way the urban commons create a space to solve material problems and enable social movements to forge city-wide networks are antidotes to people being attracted towards the far-right.

Posted 2 weeks 2 days ago

We have to be smart in how we fight against Trump and the Republican Party this time around. That means picking our battles wisely, and not taking bait that’s dangled in front of our faces.

The way the urban commons create a space to solve material problems and enable social movements to forge city-wide networks are antidotes to people being attracted towards the far-right.