Transcript of Militarization of Police Michael Collin Jesus.
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- Militarization of Police Michael Collin Jesus
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- Collin Ferguson article: The thesis of this article is that the
police of Ferguson reacted too late and overreacted. In this
article they point out that the 1033 program makes suburban towns
like Ferguson look like war zones. The article states that the
police were shooting wooden pallets, using tear gas, and even
arrested two journalists who were legally filming their actions. It
also states that the police reacted 24 hours too late and let the
protesters get out of control. Russel Honor, a retired Lieutenant
General states that "Any time we have policemen pointing weapons at
American citizens, they need to go through retraining". The police
should have gotten the crowd under control a different way and
should have done it sooner before they got out of control. The tone
of this article is aggressive. One reason why it is aggressive is
because they think that the police of ferguson overreacted on the
way they handled the crowd of protesters. The police of ferguson
were aggressive for shooting a 18 year old kid who was unarmed. St.
Louis County article: The central claim of this article is that the
military equipment helped protect the police officers from the
protesters. The police chief thinks that the armored vehicles
protected the officers and the civilians, he states that "the
heavy-armored trucks and some of the military-style equipment used
by police in last month's unrest in Ferguson helped keep civilians
and law enforcement officers safe." He also says that "Had we not
had the ability to protect officers with those vehicles, I am
afraid that we would have to engage people with our own gun fire. I
really think having the armor gave us the ability not to have
pulled one triggerI think the military uses armor to be able to
provide an offensive force, and police departments use trucks like
that so they don't have to." The police chief thinks that the riot
would have gotten a lot worse without the help of the military
equipment. The tone of this article is the police chief defending
the Ferguson police department.
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- Michael Emmel In the article The Evolution of Police
Militarization in Ferguson and Beyond the news portrays a very
negative stance toward police militarization. The author of this
article did a good job of showing his tone in his writing. It is
clear to see that he was displeased in the police use of force and
brings up many points to support his argument. They use a situation
in Ferguson to support their cause, using multiple pictures to show
how the police were handling the situation. I personally feel that
the pictures had the biggest impact on me. When reading the article
a lot of what they said was negative about the Police Department
and how they handled Ferguson. The pictures are what really made me
realize what they meant when they said the cops were all dressed in
full camo and looked like paratroopers. There are three pictures
attached to this article, one is a picture of several officers all
standing shoulder to shoulder. The most shocking pictures are the
last two, smoke fills the streets and there are near thirty police
officers all standing in a line with gas masks. All dressed in full
camouflage with assault rifles. There are some standing on top of
their armored vehicles while most stand with their hands on their
weapons. The article claims that police were too quick to use their
big equipment. Had officers spent the time to talk to the press and
tried dealing with the crowds in a less intimidating way, things
would have gone a lot differently. One of the biggest points
brought up in the article is why do police departments need these
military armored vehicles and gear.
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- The point of who takes the time to train the officers with the
equipment is also brought into play. There is no way of knowing how
things in Ferguson would have gone if the equipment wasnt used or
if was even used differently. One of the big reasons I believe that
the press is making such a big deal about this is because its one
of the first times we have seen police militarization on such a big
scale. The article St. Louis County chief defends militarization of
police talks about the positives that go with the police use of
force in Ferguson. This article is much shorter in length and only
has one picture, its not a picture that was included in the other
article. This picture is just of two officers near their armored
vehicle not wearing military camouflage. Already just by comparing
pictures between the two articles, the picture in this second
article sets a much calmer tone. It is not intimidating and shows
control by the officers. The police chief talks in this article
about how if the officers did not wear their riot gear and bring
out the armored vehicles things would have escalated differently.
He said having the armored trucks provided safety for the officers
and for the public. He felt that things were handled properly in
Ferguson saying they were lucky that things did not escalate
further based on how many people were there. The smoke was used to
disperse the crowd and get them to move back away from officers.
Having this gap made things safer for officers and the crowd. It is
all about how you word things, in this article he describes why the
officers did what they did and how it helped. In the other article
it got so focused on the amount of officers and the smoke that it
distracted the reader from thinking about the fact that there must
have been a reason for that show of force. Officers were developing
there command presence and were handling things in a non-
escalating manner.
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- Jesus - The title is pretty self explanatory but militarization
of police forces is giving military grade equipment and weaponry to
police forces to better handle certain situations. Articles: - St.
Louis County chief defends militarization of police - The Evolution
of Police Militarization in Ferguson and Beyond The article "The
Evolution of Police Militarization in Ferguson and Beyond" sides
with the negatives of police using force. It started out with a
powerful statement of which caused all of the riots during Ferguson
practically spurring readers. It then describes a scene of how the
police were enforcing law on the civilians. It then showed some
strong photographs making the police seem like they are in
something of a war zone. The tone of this writer made sure you
understood where she was coming from. She plainly opposed
militarization of police and gave clear one sided descriptions
slamming on the idea of it. Personally i feel the way she described
the situations of police using such brutal tactics with the very
powerful pictures hit me the most. The article later then explained
the police did not respond to the building crowds quickly enough.
It also described that the way the police handled the issues
without attempting to go contact group leaders within these riot
groups was wrong. It sounded as if the police strapped up and just
expected the worst was going to happen and just left it at
that.
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- The article "St. Louis County chief defends militarizing
police" sides with positives of police militarization. Right away
the article explaining how the use of military-style equipment kept
civilians and officers safe during the Ferguson conflict. It uses
personal opinions from police officers, a man named Col. Jon
Belmar, both of which also siding with the use of military
equipment. They all had the same opinion on the equipment
protecting civilians and officers themselves during the chaos. The
first section of the article did almost side with the pros of the
military equipment but then it hinted towards negatives of having
and using these equipment. Belmar the statement:"Does it look right
if we have armored trucks in the West Florissant corridor in the
Midwest United States, does it look right if we have TAC guys who
are wearing military style fatigues. Is that appropriate? I think
the answer is that we can provide explanation on why in certain
circumstances that equipment is used." pretty much explaining how
either way it would look bad to most people. But in the government
side of the situation was the question of how is this equipment all
being paid for? It spurred curiosity within the Senate Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committee since the programs
supplying the equipment can't actually track the federal dollars
used on this equipment making things suspicious.
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- The article gave a sense of conflict. It opened situations and
personal responses from people who use the equipment. The conflict
was made when the Chief explains that it made things safer "which I
do think it does" but later in the article describes that there is
something hidden in how the equipment is even purchased making it
seem like there's a dark secret. It gave readers openly two sides
to pick from. The people who explained the reasons of having the
equipment seemed stern and set on there opinions saying its either
the equipment or everyone will be unsafe it seemed. The use of just
the people who used the equipment though did make it a little one
sided I think. The only fallacies I found: If police use military
grade equipment on small civilian riots, the police will be safe
from civilians in the end.
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- The Evolution,of Police Militarization in Ferguson and Beyond
Ethos: Protesters, the author uses the extremes to try and get a
reaction out of his audience. Speaking only about the negatives and
use of force from officers. Hes trying to get them to look
negatively on police militarization Pathos:The audience is the
people against the police militarization in Ferguson, Missouri.
People were angered by what happened in Ferguson saying that the
police used to much force and it was unnecessary to use military
equipment. Logos: In Ferguson, Missouri the police used military
equipment and tactics against protestors. Protestors were angered
by the way the officers handled this situation claiming they used
to much force. This event brought up the debate about police
militarization and whether or not officers should have access to
this type of military equipment. Kairos:August 9-13, 2014 Ferguson
Missouri Telos: To inform the readers of the aggressive action that
police officers took against the protestors. Using military
clothing and equipment, taking full advantage of there military
grade resources
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- St. Louis County Chief Defends Militarization of Police Ethos:
St. Louis County Police Chief, he has authority just because of his
rank in the department. He talks calmly about why officers used
there equipment and how it helped deescalate the situation Pathos:
People for and against police militarization. This article is
designed for both sides, those who support police militarization
and those who do not. Based on what the police chief claims the
armored vehicles and military equipment helped keep the situation
from escalating. Logos In Ferguson, Missouri the police used
military equipment and tactics against protestors. Officers explain
why they used the equipment saying it helped to keep things from
escalating. According to officers there armored vehicles were a
necessity, it kept them safe. This event brought up the debate
about police militarization and whether or not officers should have
access to this type of military equipment. Kairos:August 9-13, 2014
Ferguson Missouri Telos:To explain to readers why they used the
equipment and tactics during the Ferguson incident. Officers
explain why police militarization is important and how the
equipment helped give officers control during the protests.