Lose the Camouflage, Please

 

I am in agreement with much of what Claire Berlinski and Jon Gabriel wrote in their earlier posts on the events in Ferguson, Missouri.  For the last fifteen years, much of my writing has been devoted to the cause of explaining — if not always justifying — police actions that have come in for criticism in the media.  While I know little of the incident that precipitated all that followed, if it is indeed true that the officer was 35 feet away from Michael Brown when he opened fire, I cannot imagine a set of circumstances that would justify him.

That said, like Claire and Jon, I have been troubled by some of the images broadcast from Ferguson.  And while I’m comfortable to be in their company, it’s strange to also find myself agreeing with the likes of Rachel Maddow, who on her program on Tuesday, showed a picture of police officers in camouflage aiming rifles at… I’m not quite sure.

police

Before anyone accuses me of turning on my fellow officers, I hasten to say that — in the wake of the Brown shooting — the rioting demanded a swift and decisive response from the police, including a show of force.  The citizens and merchants of the town have a right to expect the police to defend their lives and property from those who would use Brown’s death as an excuse for robbery, theft, arson, or what have you.

But images matter, and pictures of officers in camouflage, aiming rifles from the turrets of armored vehicles, diminish public support for what the police are trying to accomplish.  Keep in mind that I have stood on many skirmish lines in my police career, including in the Rodney King riots of 1992 and many smaller incidents, and have no sympathy for those who turn a peaceful protest into a melee; but nor do I have sympathy for police managers who bring discredit to a just cause by failing to grasp how public perceptions are shaped by their choices.

Some might find it surprising that, in the Aug. 19, 2013 issue of National Review, I gave a positive review to Radley Balko’s book, The Rise of the Warrior Cop.  There is sometimes a need for armored cars and heavy weaponry in police work but, if I were running the police operation in Ferguson, I would keep them at a command post nearby and out of sight until circumstances demanded their use.  And I would lose the camouflage.

Image Credits: NPR and The Independent.

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  1. Kim K. Inactive
    Kim K.
    @KimK

    Regarding armored vehicles and heavy weaponry, at what point would you say circumstances demanded their use?

    • #1
  2. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Thanks for weighing in. We should not see police dressed as combat units. Whatever happened to the blue riot gear?

    • #2
  3. Seawriter Contributor
    Seawriter
    @Seawriter

    No police officer should ever be seen in camouflage – ever – at least while on duty .  (If they want to wear camo while duck hunting or deer hunting, knock yourself out.)

    The purpose of camouflage is to hide you.  The purpose of the police is to be seen. A police officer in camo is subliminally sending the message that he or she is trying to hide something.  That is not a message any officer should want to send.

    Seawriter

    • #3
  4. Franco Member
    Franco
    @Franco

    Bryan G. Stephens:

    Thanks for weighing in. We should not see police dressed as combat units. Whatever happened to the blue riot gear?

     Seconded.

    Those pictures reveal a lot of what’s actually going on in this country. Another aspect I’m not sure has been discussed is how the USA is perceived around the world with these pics. It doesn’t look like “home of the free” and it also doen’t look much like “home of the brave”  when it comes to all the armor and weaponry. 

    • #4
  5. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Ace had a pretty good post yesterday on intimidation as a police tactic.  He raises an interesting point.

    …I’m not really disagreeing with those who criticize this on a general level. I’m only attempting to suggest what the cops would say about this matter: It is better to have a Yelling Cop than a Shooting Cop.

    In fact, there’s a scale of preferences:

    An Intimdiating Cop is better than

    A Tasering Cop, who in turn is better than

    A Grappling/Chokehold Cop, who is in turn better than

    A Shooting Cop.

    All of these, note, implicate Coercion, and that should be a concern for any conservative (and naturally, any actual Libertarian).

    And yet: Coercion is an unavoidable bedrock necessity of a police force, isn’t it?

    I’d say the answer to Ace’s last question is “yes,” but it is important to remember that tactics can fail, and if your plan was to look big and scary, and things turn violent anyway, you will now appear big and scary and violent.  The revolution may or may not be televised, but the riots are almost sure to be.

    Definitely lose the camo.

    • #5
  6. Seawriter Contributor
    Seawriter
    @Seawriter

    Another thing:  why would any peace officer wear combat boots?  What function do boots serve in an urban environment?  

    Could you picture Joe Friday wearing combat boots, even when he was a beat cop in a blue uniform?

    • #6
  7. Fake John Galt Coolidge
    Fake John Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    Funny how everybody was sneering at the conspiracy guys saying that the government was purchasing large amounts of ammo and practicing plans against the public and were dismissed as paranoids. Now this stuff starts happening and you have to wonder if maybe they are smarter than they have been given credit for.

    • #7
  8. Fake John Galt Coolidge
    Fake John Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    Question of the day. You go to the supermarket and notice a tank sitting in the handicap zone. You take out your phone to take a picture for your kid. Do you really care it the LEO beating your head in is wearing a blue uniform or a camo uniform?

    • #8
  9. Penfold Member
    Penfold
    @Penfold

    Fake John Galt:

    Question of the day. You go to the supermarket and notice a tank sitting in the handicap zone. You take out your phone to take a picture for your kid. Do you really care it the LEO beating your head in is wearing a blue uniform or a camo uniform?

     You also politely ask for a tour of the beast because you’re fascinated by the technology.  “Just look at them bogies. Awesome suspension!”

    • #9
  10. skipsul Inactive
    skipsul
    @skipsul

    Seawriter:

    No police officer should ever be seen in camouflage – ever – at least while on duty . (If they want to wear camo while duck hunting or deer hunting, knock yourself out.)

    The purpose of camouflage is to hide you. The purpose of the police is to be seen. A police officer in camo is subliminally sending the message that he or she is trying to hide something. That is not a message any officer should want to send.

    Seawriter

     I would also add that it horribly blurs the line between a Soldier and a Cop.  A Cop is there to keep the peace, a Soldier is there to wage war.

    • #10
  11. Jack Dunphy Member
    Jack Dunphy
    @JackDunphy

    Kim K.:

    Regarding armored vehicles and heavy weaponry, at what point would you say circumstances demanded their use?

     I think this would qualify.

    • #11
  12. user_519396 Member
    user_519396
    @

    At the very least, it’s very hard to square with the “community policing” methods that just about  every police force claims it uses. (It’s clearly an empty platitude in some cases.) There is really nothing new about “community policing.” It dates back to the Metropolitan Police Act in the 1830s. The original “bobbies” were conceived as civilians who had the task of ensuring law and order. They wore distinctive non-military uniforms and were not armed. This was a departure from the status quo when troops were used to keep the peace if things got seriously out of hand, and the rest of the time the lower strata of society had no police protection at all from “ordinary” crime. In those days, only mob violence on a scale that warranted calling out troops elicited a response from the “authorities.” American police forces and their political masters might want to re-learn the lessons of history, but I have a feeling pols on both sides of the aisle are loath to lock horns with police management and police unions. They see only a downside of being accused of being “soft” on crime, on terrorism, and so forth.

    • #12
  13. Fake John Galt Coolidge
    Fake John Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    skipsul:

    Seawriter:

    No police officer should ever be seen in camouflage – ever – at least while on duty . (If they want to wear camo while duck hunting or deer hunting, knock yourself out.)

    The purpose of camouflage is to hide you. The purpose of the police is to be seen. A police officer in camo is subliminally sending the message that he or she is trying to hide something. That is not a message any officer should want to send.

    Seawriter

    I would also add that it horribly blurs the line between a Soldier and a Cop. A Cop is there to keep the peace, a Soldier is there to wage war.

    I think the problem is that the politicos see very little difference between the two.  We send troops on police actions and peace keeping actions and we seem to be arming LEO with the same gear and missions as the soldiers.  Why wouldn’t LEOs not act like soldiers if they wear the same uniforms, use the same equipment, get the same training, asked to do the same things?

    • #13
  14. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    < devil’s advocate mode = on >

    Is it possible that camo fatigues are cheaper for police departments to purchase than blue tactical uniforms, because camo patterns are already mass-produced for military and consumer markets?

    I play paintball, and lots of the companies that make gear for paintball also make gear for police and security companies. It’s often pretty much the exact same gear, with a couple of minor aesthetic changes, if that.

    < devil’s advocate mode = off >

    • #14
  15. skipsul Inactive
    skipsul
    @skipsul

    Misthiocracy:

    < devil’s advocate mode = on >

    Is it possible that camo fatigues are cheaper for police departments to purchase than blue tactical uniforms, because camo patterns are already mass-produced for military and consumer markets?

    I play paintball, and lots of the companies that make gear for paintball also make gear for police and security companies. It’s often pretty much the exact same gear, with a couple of minor aesthetic changes, if that.

    < devil’s advocate mode = off >

     Any cost difference is minimal.  Uniforms are already mass-produced, so you’re far down the long tail of the cost curve.  

    • #15
  16. user_1938 Inactive
    user_1938
    @AaronMiller

    How do Ricochet’s police officers think police should respond to molotov cocktails in a crowd? Fire is a deadly weapon, is it not? If you see someone light a molotov, would you shoot him?

    If the firebomb is aimed at a store, don’t you have to assume that someone might be inside (so it is a deadly threat)? Would you assume the same if the target was a parked car? 

    Suppose that, like in the Muslim rampages in Paris, parked cars were being torched every night. What sort of force does this merit? Would you simply shoot tear gas and let the perps run away? 

    Also, do these looting parties occur only in big inner cities? I can imagine something like this happening in downtown Houston (that might be “uptown”, depending on your regional dialect). But here in the suburbs, we defend not only our own property but our neighbors as well with deadly force.

    • #16
  17. user_1938 Inactive
    user_1938
    @AaronMiller

    Along the lines of Paul Wilson’s comment (#12), is there any hope at all of returning to the tradition of self-policing (by and large)? Are there many police officers these days who appreciate the inherent limits of any police force? As we say in Texas, “When seconds count, the police are just minutes away.” 

    Shouldn’t the primary role of police be to track and catch suspects, rather than to intervene in on-going crimes? This of course refers only to normal circumstances, and not to riots or hostage situations.

    I suppose it can’t be helped so long as our judicial system supports frivolous lawsuits. Every retail business I ever worked at forbade employees from apprehending thieves for fear of lawsuits. And, as everyone knows, if you exercise your right to defend your property at home, government will try to put you in prison for daring to act of your own accord.

    • #17
  18. Devereaux Inactive
    Devereaux
    @Devereaux

    If you wear combat boots, camoflage uniforms, helmets, body armor (in excess of what the normal police officer wears in daily duty), carry real assault rifles, wear molle gear to carry all your “stuff”, have tanks and MRAP’s to drive about – ?would you not see yourself more and more as a soldier, not a police officer. And if you see yourself as a soldier – ?would you not then begin to view the “neighborhood” as a “battlefield”.

    There was real reason that the Founding Fathers worried about “standing armies”.

    • #18
  19. user_1938 Inactive
    user_1938
    @AaronMiller

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-police-armed-with-93763-new-machine-guns-9670107.html

    Does anyone know if the 90,000+ “machine guns” cited in this article are really just assault rifles that some ignorant reporter misidentified? Otherwise, I can’t imagine a legitimate use of these guns by police.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgPfudirj_Y

    • #19
  20. user_519396 Member
    user_519396
    @

    Aaron Miller:

    Along the lines of Paul Wilson’s comment (#12), is there any hope at all of returning to the tradition of self-policing (by and large)? Are there many police officers these days who appreciate the inherent limits of any police force? As we say in Texas, “When seconds count, the police are just minutes away.”

    Shouldn’t the primary role of police be to track and catch suspects, rather than to intervene in on-going crimes? This of course refers only to normal circumstances, and not to riots or hostage situations.

     In fact the courts have repeatedly ruled the police have no specific legal “duty” to intervene in on-going crimes. Even appalling cases of dereliction or ineptitude are not actionable. Self-protection may be the only protection you can expect. There was a particularly gruesome case from the 1970s in DC (see Warren v. DC.) I won’t go into details. Those who are unfamiliar can look it up.

    • #20
  21. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    Aaron Miller: Does anyone know if the 90,000+ “machine guns” cited in this article are really just assault rifles that some ignorant reporter misidentified?

    Don’t many police departments use the Heckler & Koch MP5?  I’m pretty sure that’s the weapon of choice for tactical units up here in the Great White North.

    • #21
  22. Ryan M Inactive
    Ryan M
    @RyanM

    I love the title of this post.  The Camo is ridiculous and wholly unjustified.  I don’t really mind the heavy equipment when you’re dealing with potential rioters, but you do still have to keep the police/military line pretty bright.

    That said, I am starting to really lose sympathy for these sorts of protests.  Rodney King, Trayvon Martin, now this?  Frankly, I blame our first black president and the sorts of people he surrounds himself with – and the Al Sharptons and Oprah Winfrey’s of the world.  They are race-baiters, pure and simple.  A protest should at least have some meaning, and this is nothing more than race.  Trayvon Martin didn’t deserve any protests, and if he wasn’t black, there wouldn’t have been any…  I don’t know about this case – but protests over misbehavior of an officer like this?  That means that it isn’t just about the incident.  It is about something much larger; and while it surely goes both ways, we have our first black president, who could accomplish a great deal toward mending real and perceived wounds, but has chosen to do the exact opposite for short-term political gain.

    • #22
  23. skipsul Inactive
    skipsul
    @skipsul

    Misthiocracy:

    Aaron Miller: Does anyone know if the 90,000+ “machine guns” cited in this article are really just assault rifles that some ignorant reporter misidentified?

    Don’t many police departments use the Heckler & Koch MP5? I’m pretty sure that’s the weapon of choice for tactical units up here in the Great White North.

     MP5 is fading from fashion.  AR/M16 style rifles are increasingly preferred due to familiarity, cost (sometimes free milsurp), availability of parts, and an ease of handling.  MP5 is good, but surprisingly pricey, and the 9mm pistol round just doesn’t have the stopping power of 5.56mm.

    Sub-machine guns (of which the MP5 is one) are niche weapons.  They look cool, they are compact but powerful up close, but they are not as versatile as a modern (and I grit my teeth using this hackneyed phrase) “assault” weapon.  If need more than a sidearm, you get a rifle or a shotgun, not another sidearm that just shoots really fast.  A modern rifle is compact, powerful, and accurate from near to far, an SMG’s lower accuracy increases risk of collateral damage.

    • #23
  24. Devereaux Inactive
    Devereaux
    @Devereaux

    To Ryan M’s #22, there is a whole industry out there based on race and race baiting. Real racism DOES exist – but it goes both ways. OTOH, the likes of Sharpton and Jackson have been making big money on race for most of their lives. Talk to a lot of inner city cops, and you will find that a lot of “preachers” have also. Jeremiah Wright is not alone, although he may be more vitriolic. Until the black community recognizes just how much damage the government has done to them, nothing will change.

    And despite all the noise about cops, the second largest killer of blacks is – other blacks. And the number one killer is – abortion. Neither is related to cops.

    • #24
  25. user_549556 Inactive
    user_549556
    @VinceGuerra

    Any chance these might be National Guard?

    • #25
  26. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    Ryan M: Frankly, I blame our first black president and the sorts of people he surrounds himself with – and the Al Sharptons and Oprah Winfrey’s of the world.  They are race-baiters, pure and simple.  

    A lot of the blame should also be directed at local and cable news outlets which broadcast all sorts of speculation about an incident long before the facts can be confirmed. This does nothing by stir up confusion, conspiracy theory, and anger.

    • #26
  27. user_51254 Member
    user_51254
    @BereketKelile

    Misthiocracy:

    Ryan M: Frankly, I blame our first black president and the sorts of people he surrounds himself with – and the Al Sharptons and Oprah Winfrey’s of the world. They are race-baiters, pure and simple.

    A lot of the blame should also be directed at local and cable news outlets which broadcast all sorts of speculation about an incident long before the facts can be confirmed. This does nothing by stir up confusion, conspiracy theory, and anger.

    To add to that, I think it has an effect on cities elsewhere who watch Ferguson and may want to pre-empt any rioting by bringing down the hammer fast and soon. Ironically, I think the desire to avoid a riot may push officials to take measures that they wouldn’t have otherwise considered.

    • #27
  28. Misthiocracy Member
    Misthiocracy
    @Misthiocracy

    FYI: Apparently, governments in Missouri did change their strategy and tactics:

    A stunning change happened overnight in Ferguson, Missouri after the government took a different approach to people’s civil liberties in the area.

    Gone were the SWAT trucks and snipers. Gone were the riot shields and militaristic outfits. Gone was the hostility. And guess what? Gone was the violence.

    Yesterday the Missouri Highway Patrol was given responsibility over the area. Patrol Capt. Ronald S. Johnson, who is a Ferguson native, marched in front of the crowd and set clear priorities for the marchers which respected their civil liberties. Governor Jay Nixon had vowed to take a different approach to the event, which has spurred national interest after police were caught tear gassing and arresting reporters.

    “When I see a young lady cry because of fear of this uniform, that’s a problem.”Johnson said. “We’ve got to solve that.”

    http://libertyviral.com/the-government-in-ferguson-tried-respecting-civil-liberties-guess-what-happened/#axzz3ANWKdqGv

    • #28
  29. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    Ryan M:

    That said, I am starting to really lose sympathy for these sorts of protests.  

    More than that, I am even irritated by the fact events such as these are continually referred to as protests. Some in Fergoson were protesting, others were not they were rioting. A note to the media: Once the property damage begins, once the molotovs come out it is no longer a protest it is now a riot.

    • #29
  30. user_989419 Inactive
    user_989419
    @ProbableCause

    Seawriter:

    The purpose of camouflage is to hide you. The purpose of the police is to be seen. A police officer in camo is subliminally sending the message that he or she is trying to hide something. That is not a message any officer should want to send. 

    Furthermore, shouldn’t good urban camouflage be cement or asphalt colored?  Or dressed like bus drivers or something?  The message, then, seems not to be so much “we’re trying to hide,” but “we want to look real menacing, in a third-world-conflict sort of way.”

    • #30
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