The militarization of the police
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10 SOCIALIST ACTION DECEMBER 2014 The military weapons we saw on display in Ferguson are part of the militarization of police forces across the U.S.
Its roots began with the SWAT teams under Democrat Lyndon John son, whose war of extermination against the Black Panther Party was continued under Republican Rich ard Nixon. As Michelle Alexander explains in “The New Jim Crow,” the drive received massive funding in the 1980s under the Reagan administra tion’s “War on Drugs.”
In 1997, the Clinton administra tion passed the “1033 program,” which allowed for surplus military equipment to be issued to local po lice departments, including college campus police. Another impetus was the tragic 9-11 attack. Today, under Democrat Barack Obama, the pro gram has mushroomed with grants from Homeland Security, the Justice Department, and the Pentagon. Such equipment has included M-16 rifles, high-powered .50 caliber rifles, full body armor, and the BearCat ar mored truck seen in Ferguson.
Since its start, the 1033 program has transferred more than $5.1 bil lion worth of equipment. In 2013, under Obama, $450 million worth of property was transferred to law enforcement agencies. More than 8000 law enforcement agencies have enrolled in the program. On Dec. 1, Obama affirmed that the 1033 pro gram would continue.
According to Peter Kraska, a pro fessor at Eastern Kentucky Univer sity’s School of Justice Studies, SWAT teams have skyrocketed in use from a few thousand instances per year in the 1980s to more than 50,000 per year in 2005.
The numbers are expected to have risen since then. The majority of SWAT raids were used to serve warrants against non-violent drug offenders. A state investigation in Maine found that in some areas 100% of warrants were carried out by SWAT teams, regardless of the suspected crime. Some 90% of large cities now have SWAT teams as well as 80% of small towns.
Glen Ford, editor of the Black Agenda Report, summed it up this way, “Since President Obama took office, the Pentagon has transferred to police departments tens of thousands of machine guns; nearly 200,000 ammunition maga zines; thousands of pieces of cam ouflage and night-vision equipment; and hundreds of silencers, armored cars and aircraft.
“All the nation’s police departments are following the same drill, with the same tools and weapons, under the same mandate: keep the Blacks in check; terrorize them as a matter of policy; provoke them, when it is po litically convenient; and keep them imprisoned at rates never experi enced over time by any group that was not formally enslaved.”
A majority of the Democratic Party “Congressional Black Caucus” voted against a liberal reform bill modify ing the 1033 program. Said BAR’s Glen Ford, “These Treasonous 32–27 “Nay” votes and 5 abstentions, out of 40, can never be forgiven, and should be denounced and shamed at every opportunity.” — M.G. like Iraq under U.S. occupation. Ar mored trucks, with sharpshooters perched on top, rolled down Ferguson streets, using military equipment sup plied by the Obama administration to police departments across the U.S. Tear gas flooded the streets.
Although most protesters were peace ful, some cop cars and businesses, sev eral of which sucked wealth out of the community, were torched. The white mayor, Democrat James Knowles, said, “We’ve never seen this kind of ... ten sion between the races. I know we’ve always gotten along.” Knowles blamed violence on “outside agitators,” echoing the racist cry of Southern segregation ists during the civil rights era.
On the first night alone, dozens were arrested in Ferguson. Between Aug. 13 and Oct. 2 alone—before the deci sion—at least 19 journalists were ar rested or harassed. Police shot at least two journalists in the back with rubber bullets.
The entire metropolitan St. Louis area is one of the most segregated in the country. In the area around Fergu son, unemployment is 20% higher for Blacks than the 6.2% rate for whites. In Ferguson, the poverty rate is 22%, ten (continued on page 11, in “Mocking jay: The Revolution will be televised”)
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