They love getting dressed up in their fancy gear.
But the cammo colors don't make sense! You're in the city but you need olive/sand/green drab to conceal yourself?
Shit is ludicrous.
"Cops have long emulated the military, aping their uniforms, haircuts, rank structure, and customs and courtesies. Often, to a rather absurd level wherein chiefs of small police departments wear the stars of a four-star general.
"In many ways, the military is a good model of a professional bureaucracy. And bravery, sense of duty, and calm while in harm’s way are things we want our police to aspire to.
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At the same time, however, the military’s warrior ethos is antithetical to what we want from domestic law enforcement.
Soldiers are trained to kill without hesitation and adopt a macabre sense of humor as part of that transformation. Images of skulls and cutesy slogans about killing are often seen on t-shirts and bumper stickers.
Cops, though, aren’t trigger pullers by mission. Desensitizing them to violence probably isn’t a good idea."
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'Paramilitarization of Police', Outside the Beltway blog
How Did America's Police Get So Militarized?
"Police across America are being trained in a way that emphasizes force and aggression. Recruit training favors a stress-based regimen that's modeled on military boot camp rather than on the more relaxed academic setting only a few police departments still employ.
The result is young officers who believe policing is about kicking ass rather than working with the community to make neighborhoods safer.
Police recruiting videos actively play up militarization as a way of attracting young men with the promise of Army-style adventure and high-tech toys.
Policing, according to these recruiting videos, isn't about calmly solving problems; it's about you and your buddies breaking down doors in the middle of the night.
SWAT's influence permeates the force. Take the increasing adoption of battle-dress uniforms (BDUs) for patrol officers. These militaristic, often black, jumpsuits make them less approachable and possibly also more aggressive in their interactions with the citizens they're supposed to protect.
A research project at Johns Hopkins University seems to bear this out. People were shown pictures of police officers in their traditional uniforms and in BDUs. Respondents, the survey indicated, would much rather have a police officer show up in traditional dress blues.
The report found: 'The more militaristic look of the BDUs, much like what is seen in news stories of our military in war zones, gives rise to the notion of our police being an occupying force instead of trusted community protectors.'"