The Police Are Paramilitary Thugs

Submitted by Daniel Luke

In America, our cops are becoming less and less distinguishable from the security apparati of 1970s-era petty dictatorships in Central and South America. Where once they wore uniforms which were appropriate to civil servants, albeit ones with guns, they now don the habiliments of what more closely resembles a paramilitary organization, and they have the bullying, menacing, we’re-above-the-law attitudes to go along with them. These attitudes are demonstrated in this video,  which unambiguously shows one such paramilitary — what point is there in referring to them any longer as “cops” since that term suggests a civil role? –Seizing a video recording device from an innocuous bystander. The transparently absurd justification for the seizure was that the device contained evidence that the person being arrested was “resisting”, and therefore, they were entitled to take it.

Imagine, then, a massive protest. On such an occasion, innumerable people would be recording video as events unfolded. If the justification of the Gresham, Oregon police department is allowed to stand, that would mean that the recording devices at such an event could be seized by the police en masse should any arrests be made (inevitable, of course) under the pretext of gathering “evidence”.