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

We found 47 Reddit comments about Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces
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47 Reddit comments about Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces:

u/mattman59 · 145 pointsr/todayilearned

>if you're going to raid a house with multiple people and rifles, how the fuck could you get the address wrong?

http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610392116

Halfway through this and had to put it down multiple times after reading stories of cops doing stuff like this and then the courts ruling that they acted appropriately. Juries in America by in large are fucking retarded.

u/kyleg5 · 41 pointsr/dataisbeautiful

While that can be true, Cato does have more intellectual honesty than, for instance, the Heritage foundation. They have a libertarian agenda, but as long as you bear that in mind, there can still be good analysis found.

More importantly, Radley Balko is a phenomenal reporter who has basically been leading the charge on the militarization of police. He also writes for WaPo, and I would say is much less interested in being an ideologue than just aggressively exposing this single issue. I cannot recommend Rise of the Warrior Cop enough.

u/eco_was_taken · 16 pointsr/NoStupidQuestions

Courts are still deciding this (and as other say, jurisdiction is important). There are several cases that have happened where a cop was shot entering a house and the shooter was found not guilty or released after time served.

Cory Maye shot and killed an officer when he entered Cory's half of a duplex (the wrong half). Police were doing a no-knock raid and entered the wrong house. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to the death penalty. His conviction was overturned after attention to the many problems with the case were raised in the media by journalist Radley Balko. Radley Balko is probably the leading journalist covering police raids, medical examiner abuse, and police militarization so if this stuff interests you I recommend following his work.

Adrian Perryman was recently found not guilty after shooting and injuring a cop during a no-knock raid.

Matthew Stewart, a veteran with PTSD, was woken up by having his home raided by police on a tip for an ex-girlfriend that he was growing marijuana. They say they announced themselves, he said he never heard them. They were dressed in hoodies and t-shirts (one was wearing a Cheech and Chong shirt). Several of the police officers had to run back to their vehicles after shots began to get the bullet proof vests they should have been wearing which had POLICE written on them.

Stewart shot 6 officers, killing one of them. After he was apprehended and placed in jail the police began a smear campaign saying that they found photos of him dressed up as a taliban suicide bomber, that they found a bomb in his closet, and that they found child porn on his computer. The taliban outfit was a halloween costume. An ATF agent refuted that the device found was a bomb. Stewart committed suicide in jail by hanging himself. Months later the police called his family to tell them they never actually found any child pornography on his computer.

Edit: Just to clarify a little, knowingly shooting a cop is never lawful. The cases above are because the person shooting did not know who they were shooting at were police. In some of these cases when the police finally announce they are police the person thinks that the police just happened to show up to stop the people who are invading their home. They often don't even realize they had been shooting at the police until after they are arrested.

u/sstelmaschuk · 14 pointsr/CanadaPolitics

Compassion is one part of it for sure. There's a wonderful book, Rise of the Warrior Cop, that details a lot about the mentality of police in the US over the last couple of decades.

And I think that's an issue that we do need to address, in addition to compassion, is that more and more cops are being trained to act like military staff. Which gives rise to 'us vs them' mentality that tends to lead to situations like the one that occurred in Toronto.

u/sounddude · 11 pointsr/Libertarian

If any of you haven't read this book I HIGHLY recommend it. Especially if you like to get your blood pressure up to unsafe levels.

Rise of The Warrior Cop

u/ClarkNeily · 10 pointsr/IAmA

Great, great, GREAT question BorgesFan. Thank you!

First, I don’t find marijuana legalization esoteric at all. We lock up a disgraceful number of people for the utterly harmless “crime” of marijuana possession and sale, and as a result of our political leaders’ foolish commitment to prosecuting the unwinnable drug war, America has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. Disgraceful! Also, local police are turning into quasi-military outfits, and it’s getting really scary. Please read my friend Radley Balko’s book, [The Rise of the Warrior Cop] (http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610392116) to learn more.

How do we make the argument for liberty more accessible? By telling the personal stories of those who have suffered at the hands of overweening government: [Susette Kelo and her neighbors in New London, CT] (http://www.ij.org/kelo-v-new-london), where eminent domain was used to take their homes and businesses by force. [Sandy Meadows, who couldn’t support herself because Louisiana said she had to have a license to arrange flowers] (http://www.ij.org/meadows-v-odom).

The most important tip I can offer is to have empathy for your listener. This means a few things:

-Don’t treat someone like they’re a bad person or an idiot just because they disagree with you about a particular policy. They probably want many of the same results you do—a free, prosperous, and just society—and just disagree about how to get there.
-Prioritize your outrage. Some government abuses are truly appalling (e.g., the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII) while others are petty indignities (e.g., being forced to subsidize public television shows you disagree with through your tax dollars). If you equate the latter with the former, people won’t take your message seriously.
-Figure out what your listeners care about and then make your argument in their terms. For example, a social liberal might not be moved by arguments about the “nanny state,” but they may be moved by evidence that a particular policy harms the very people it is intended to help.
-Simplify, simplify, simplify. If you can’t explain your position to someone who isn’t a policy wonk, it’s not going to persuade people.
-Put a human face on the issues. It’s one thing to say that a policy is unjust; it’s another thing to show how it harms real people.

These principles are common sense, but you would be surprised at how many people ignore them.

Finally, I spent the last 15 months or so trying to distill all of this into an intelligent, accessible, and emotionally compelling package. The result is my new book, [Terms of Engagement: How Our Courts Should Enforce the Constitution’s Promise of Limited Government] (http://www.amazon.com/Terms-Engagement-Enforce-Constitutions-Government/dp/1594036969/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375210642&sr=1-1&keywords=terms+of+engagement+constitution). Hope some of you will check it out and tell me what you think!

u/coolcrosby · 8 pointsr/Bad_Cop_No_Donut

See, Rise of the Warrior Cop by Radley Balko at:http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610392116

For confirmation of your position

u/goonsack · 7 pointsr/Cyberpunk

This photo is on the cover of Radley Balko's new book.

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

u/[deleted] · 6 pointsr/rage

To anyone curious as to where this kind of gung-ho mentality of police comes from, I recommend picking up this book.

u/insecuritytheater · 6 pointsr/news

Radley Balko's book Rise of the Warrior Cop briefly touches on how rarely judges turn down search warrants. Rather depressing. Don't have a citation for which pages, sorry.

u/SerPuissance · 4 pointsr/aww

You wouldn't believe the petty shit that SWAT get sent in for these days. If you're interested, read ["Rise of the Warrior Cop"] (http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610392116) if you want to see what direction US law enforcement is headed.

u/IQBoosterShot · 3 pointsr/politics

I highly recommend reading "Rise Of The Warrior Cop: The Militarization Of America's Police Forces" by Radley Balko. I'm in the middle of it and already I feel like I'm understanding a process which had its genesis in the sixties.

u/Zeighesh · 3 pointsr/motorcycles

If we're handing out book recommendations, Radley Balko's reporting and books The Rise of the Warrior Cop and Overkill would probably broaden your perspective.

u/genesissequence · 3 pointsr/conspiracy

According to Radley Balko most of the surplus comes from the war on drugs.

u/aethelberga · 3 pointsr/conspiracy
u/sticky-bit · 3 pointsr/amateurradio

The vast majority of police communications really need to be broadcast in the clear, live:

>"There is a tanker trailer full of flammable liquid, on fire and overturned just south of exit 9 southbound, I-95"

There are a small amount of communications that still need to be broadcast, but for officer safety need a few minutes of delay:

>"We're going to try to get to the sniper atop The Tower at the University of Texas by going through an underground tunnel"

^(Please note that the information that there is an active shooter on the top of the tower needs to be broadcast far and wide to help prevent loss of life. The tactical stuff only should go on delay. If all the comms are scrambled, they're keeping vital information from the public.)

There's a only a very few bits of information that never should be broadcast in the clear, but still need to be available by discovery under the supervision of a judge, should a lawsuit occur.

>"The rape victim's name is "

Unfortunately, the way we're moving in this country ("Burn that fucking house down!", secret interrogation rooms for the Chicago police department, Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces) is entirely the wrong direction.

u/WaterIce215 · 3 pointsr/news

Great book on the subject of militarized police called Rise of the Warrior Cop by Ridley Balko, who did an AMA on the subject.

u/GrayghOst123 · 3 pointsr/news

There is a book I am currently reading that is pertinent to the subject of police policy overreach. It is called Rise of the Warrior Cop I would recommend it to anyone wondering how SWAT started as a purely anti-terrorist force to becoming used for just about everything today.

u/Firsmith · 3 pointsr/TrueReddit

This book is a great read on the subject. rise of the warrior cop

u/trudann · 3 pointsr/AdviceAnimals

Response to active shooters has generally changed to immediate neutralization after Columbine: there are usually no negotiations and police go in ASAP to apprehend the target. In many areas I think the crazed gunman would have to initiate the negotiations. Often times the first response is not SWAT (they take longer to mobilize), but whoever arrives first that has a weapon.

As far as SWAT teams go, for the most part I think there are far too many in America. Even smaller communities have a SWAT team, though the chance of their need is very low. I mean.. how many incidences can a town with a population of 10,000 really have that would require a SWAT team?

As a result the teams are often under trained and to justify the expense of having one staffed and equipped the rate of no-knock raids increases. IMO no-knocks are most certainly dangerous, unnecessary and serve only to habituate violence. But unfortunately a man with a hammer sees every problem as a nail.

All that said in this particular situation I would say that Brown was looking for trouble that day and found it, but that not enough evidence has been released yet to determine if the actions of the officer were justified. I'm not sure there will be enough evidence to really ever know. I certainly wouldn't trust the testimony that his friend/accomplice in strong arm robbery would give. More video or other eyewitness accounts would be needed.

Ultimately I think communities across America need to reconsider the militarization of their police. What's far more worrisome than any of the police response to protesters and rioters so far are no-knock raids on the wrong houses. And how regular warrants are starting to be served in ways that look more and more like no-knock warrants.

A decent read on the subject of police militarization and the use of SWAT teams:
http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610392116

u/FionaFiddlesticks · 2 pointsr/politics

It's actually an excerpt from a book! Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1610392116

u/hexag1 · 2 pointsr/politics

Check out Radley Balko's new book:
Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1610392116/

u/conn2005 · 2 pointsr/Libertarian

Dude, you got to read Rise of the Warrior Cop, it will answer all your questions, I'm 2/3rds through.

The US use to not find you guilty of murder if a cop entered your house without knocking and giving you enough time to open the door. Not any more. They've watered down the castle doctrine so much its basically meaningless and the wording that allows no-knock raids is so ambiguous the cops can fabricate just about any excuse to go raiding at night with no knock.

u/n00bsauce1987 · 2 pointsr/progun

Also I have to say not in terms of race relations, but in general, America has supported the militarization of our police. Below is some reading that if you want to learn more about this phenomenon, it's here to consume. Such a pro-active response which includes the use of military force from our local police is not necessary as /u/Llanita suggested.

Column: The militarization of U.S. police forces via Yahoo News

At SWAT team expo, protesters decry police militarization via Al Jazaeera America

Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America via CATO Institute

How Cops Became Soldiers: An Interview with Police Militarization Expert Radley Balko via Vice

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

u/mack-the-knife · 2 pointsr/WTF

I highly recommend anyone who want to more about this to read "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces"

It does a good job explaining how it has come to this

u/gonucksgo · 2 pointsr/magicTCG
u/tacoman359 · 2 pointsr/news

There's a major communication issue regarding people and institutions/systems, especially on liberal forums such as reddit.

The system of the police force in this country has a culture. It is not a culture that is on the whole reasonable or helpful for the ordinary citizen. The same problems exist in the legislative system, judicial, executive, and our government in general. The culture in law enforcement exists primarily to maintain the status quo, and make money. They make money by busting people for drugs (this is the top focus of nearly every police department), and they maintain the status quo by inciting fear in the citizens (particularly the lower classes, who have the most incentive to fight for change). At the individual level, I doubt very many cops think they are "inciting fear", but that's why we need to get a lot smarter about the way in which we think about systems. Systems have properties that individuals do not (this is known as emergence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergence)

It's not that only bad people go into these jobs, or that these jobs always turn people into bad people. But these two factors play a huge role in defining police culture and political culture in America (and many places around the world, and throughout history).

When we blame the individuals (all this "police are scumbags" talk) for the issues, we get nowhere, because culture goes much deeper than individuals (though many times, police are scumbags, and expressing that emotional response is perfectly valid on some level). The whole way that we look at law enforcement in this country (especially starting with the militarization of the police force in the '80s) is terrifying. People are viewed as subjects who need to be controlled, rather than citizens who are a part of this country and have a say in it's direction forward (this is looking more and more like idealistic bullshit, but we're supposed to be a democracy after all).
Here's one source, but you'll find many others with a quick google search: http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610392116

Tldr; I rambled, and tried to touch on too many different things without saying any one thing in a concrete manner. But it's not only about these particular officers, and it's not only about police officers in general. It's about police culture, and there are clear trends in the way we are being policed that we should be very concerned about.

u/WiseCynic · 2 pointsr/progressive

For the answer to this and other important questions about American police, please see the book titled "Rise of the Warrior Cop" by Radley Balko.

The paperback should be out soon.

u/optionallycrazy · 2 pointsr/news

They were escorted by the national guards. That's a little different from the police department. The point of that is that the entire city was against that and the president at that time said you know what, that's not going to happen. That's a bit different now. The police are protected and encouraged by the president.

Since you're talking about googling stuff, I recommend buying the book Warrior Cop at http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610392116. Just get the book and maybe it might change your mind about some of these things.

The problem here isn't race, but the fact that it's becoming a police state. Put racism issues aside and you'll see that the problem isn't race or anything of the sort. It's a problem that's growing and one that is catching on to normal citizens who once thought cops were the ultimate protector of communities.

u/Zalwol · 1 pointr/politics

If you haven't yet purchased Radley's book, do it now.

u/dazhealy · 1 pointr/ireland

Its over reccommended on reddit at the moment but Rise of the Warrior Cop gives a great account of the problems with American police forces.

One thing I can say about the Gardaí is that I wouldn't swap them for any armed police force in the world.

u/conspirobot · 1 pointr/conspiro

genesissequence: ^^original ^^reddit ^^link

According to Radley Balko most of the surplus comes from the war on drugs.

u/alexa-blue · 1 pointr/bestofthefray

On my reading list. Do you think this is getting more publicity? I mostly get the sense that the media is a mouthpiece for the official story line. Don't disagree with you, TK, bite, except that I don't think overstating the facts serves any good. An alternative (to me) take here.

u/vitamalz · 1 pointr/WTF
u/AllWrong74 · 1 pointr/Libertarian

We've been ranting about a police state for far longer than the deal in Ferguson. Radley Balko literally wrote the book on police militarization, and has been preaching against it for far longer than the book has been in print, for instance.

u/kewlfocus · 1 pointr/WTF
u/Bbaily · 1 pointr/conspiracy

read this: "Rise of the warrior cop" it's not a bashing session it's very well written and researched documentary on how and why we have "police state lite" soon to be far worse.

u/bkenobi · 1 pointr/news

if you want to know more history on the subject, read "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces" it talks about all this stuff

http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas/dp/1610392116

u/GeauxMik · 1 pointr/Libertarian
u/libertariangranola · 0 pointsr/Bitcoin

Far more relevant are the militarized police forces around the country and all of the gangs fuelled by the War on (some) Drugs.

u/scottwuzhear · 0 pointsr/Charlotte

Cops do not work to make sure you are safe. They are under no obligation to protect you, they only execute the law. Cops are nigh untouchable and invincible nowadays. They can be filmed assaulting, harassing, or killing someone and get off with nothing more than a paid vacation. Our police forces are being militarized, walking the streets with assault rifles, patrolling the streets with military vehicles and anti-landmine vehicles. I suggest you read Rise of the Warrior Cop.

u/droppingadeuce · -7 pointsr/legaladvice

I'm curious about your background, for the purpose of understanding your perspective. I'm a limited license prosecutor, and even the prosecutors in my conservative, rural county aren't nearly the police apologist you seem to be. Are you in law enforcement yourself?

/u/genuinerysk's comment is a legitimate statement. You might be interested in learning more.