US/Police
 US/Police(Police)   | |
|---|---|
 A poster from Occupy | |
U.S. Police are officially responsible for preserving law and order in US, preventing crimes. In the 21st century, they are increasingly violent in this endeavour, so by by 2017, it is reported that one-third of all Americans killed by strangers are killed by police.[1]
Contents
Universal surveillance
Every year, US police spend millions on mass surveillance tools for cellphones, but as of 2017 there were still few rules about what happens to the information they capture.[2]
Militarization
US police are increasingly using surplus military equipment, as well as having special less lethal weapons developed for them.
Less lethal weapons
- Full article:
Less lethal weapon
- Full article:
In 2015, North Dakota became the first use state to allow police use of drones armed with less lethal weapons such as tasers, rubber bullets and tear gas after a last-minute push by a lobbyist.[3]
Homicides
Statistics indicate that in March 2015, US police killed 111 people, over twice the total that the UK police killed in the entire 20th century.[4] In 2017, according to the database Mapping Police Violence, US police killed 1,129 US citizens in 2017, up from 963 in 2016.[5] By 2017, one-third of all Americans killed by strangers are killed by police.[1]
A 2018 study by the University of Washington and Cornell University cross referenced police statistics with other sources and determined that they underestimated the actual homicide rate by about 50%. The study was co-authored by Michael Esposito, who stated that in the US "police departments are not required by law to report deaths that occur due to officer action and may have strong incentives to be sensitive with data due to public affairs and community relations. Effectively, we don’t know what’s happening if all we look at is the official data."[6]
SWAT
- Full article: SWAT
- Full article: SWAT
An invention of the LAPD, SWAT teams (Special Weapons And Tactics) are increasingly used by US police, mostly to raid private homes as part of the "war on drugs". Live streaming head cameras have lead to 'swatting' as a prank,[7][8] sometimes with fatal consequences.[9]
Activities
Some US police joined and some covertly supported the Occupy Wall St. movement.
Scapegoating the poor
In 2019 US police have been instructed to protect local aesthetics by arresting people who sleep in cars.[10]
An event carried out
| Event | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Wakefield standoff | Massachusetts US | A standoff between an anti-government militia and the police, in July 2021 in Wakefield, Massachusetts. |
Examples
| Page name | Description |
|---|---|
| Capitol Police | The US Capitol police is tasked with protecting the US Capitol, receiving a budget of $500 million. Full of racial discrimination according to former personnel since the 2000s. Some dozen officers have been arrested in aiding the mob that attacked them in the 2021 Washington D.C. Riots. |
| Chicago Police Department | |
| LAPD | |
| NYPD |
Related Quotation
| Page | Quote | Author | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny Sheu | “The ultimate, terrifying moral of the Sunny Sheu story is this: If you are threatened with death by the police in the USA, there is no where you can go for protection, and after you are killed, there is no where your friends and loved ones can go for justice. That is why this story is of critical important to every American citizen.” | Sunny Sheu Will Galison | January 2016 |
Event Witnessed
| Event | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta sex trafficking operation | Atlanta Georgia (State) US | A sex trafficking operation in Atlanta. |
References
- ↑ a b https://granta.com/violence-in-blue/
- ↑ http://www.citylab.com/crime/2017/02/cellphone-spy-tools-have-flooded-local-police-departments/512543/
- ↑ http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/26/first-state-legalizes-armed-drones-for-cops-thanks-to-a-lobbyist.html
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkX-UybXo_I
- ↑ https://www.alternet.org/human-rights/police-violence-2017
- ↑ https://komonews.com/news/local/police-killings-twice-as-common-as-reported-uw-study-finds
- ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/21/technology/online-swatting-becomes-a-hazard-for-popular-video-gamers-and-police-responders.html
- ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/06/opinion/swatting-fbi.html
- ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/us/wichita-shooting-swatting.html
- ↑ https://rutherford.org/publications_resources/on_the_front_lines/napping_not_allowed_ban_on_sleeping_in_cars_could_allow_police_to_seize_car_occupants_vehicles_and_carry_out_warrantless_searches?utm_source=The+Rutherford+Institute&utm_campaign=dc452049a8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_04_05_01_54&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d7ffde3304-dc452049a8-42140145
