Tanks… cool!
a decision justified in part by the police department’s stated need to fight protest groups such as Occupy.
I am sure if you’ve been overseas and faced angry crowds from a tank, this makes sense.
To those of us who have been to Concord, and think it’s one of the quaintest places on earth, this tanks is obviously just another gigantic fake phallus for the PD to stroke.
Their stated need does not include rolling up on the real life trollies who walk around with AKs, but it does mention needing to put down the hippies in tents with their ideas.
Go ahead and pick on the headline, it’s all you got.
In fairness the armored vehicle the PD wants to buy isn’t a tank IE: A heavily armored tracked vehicle with a large main cannon, but instead a armored police vehicle of the type you often seen employed by SWAT teams. The question of the actual necessity for such a vehicle remains, but a tank it isn’t.
You mean… a headline on BoingBoing that’s needlessly hyperbolic! Never!
Google the vehicle; it’s nothing at all like a tank, it’s basically a heavily armored Hummer that you’d use in SWAT operations. Whether the town needs to have it or not is a decision (should be a decision) for the town’s residents, but it’s not completely unreasonable. It’s not a friggin’ tank.
In general I find this whole militarization of police to be a bad idea - be it tank or armored transport. It seems a shame to just scrap these no longer needed vehicles, but one thing people don’t realize is these military vehicles usually require more and expensive maintenance. The army has a whole system with mechanics etc in place to keep them running. Podunk PD does not.
If it’s a Hummer, it’s a tank ! Trust me.
Can’t they just borrow one from the military or national guard or what ever that thing is called if they happen to need a APC?
I hate APCs they are really hard to overtake on the roads and they tend to be slow.
Sure. it’s much closer to an armored car. What it isn’t is a peacetime civilian law enforcement vehicle. What it is is a hammer, seeking a nail.
Oh, so do point out some good reasons then.
but instead a armored police vehicle of the type you often seen employed by SWAT teams. The question of the actual necessity for such a vehicle remains, but a tank it isn’t.
You mean… a headline on BoingBoing that’s needlessly hyperbolic! Never! Google the vehicle; it’s nothing at all like a tank, it’s basically a heavily armored Hummer that you’d use in SWAT operations.
“Tank” synonyms: armored vehicle, armored car, combat vehicle
Sigh… Now, can we please drop the insulting, boorish, trite, pedantic distractions and get to the actual meat of the matter? The corrupt, wasteful and draconian militarization of our police forces?
When your own citizens are so angry at you that you need a tank or APC you’re doing something wrong.
Glad to see some push-back against the expansion and consolidation of power that police departments have been undergoing, and I’m glad that it’s Concord that’s pushing back. Thanks for posting this article; this is the kind of news which I like to see on BoingBoing.
From one of the source articles:
Yes, this regulation is not directed solely at tanks. The title isn’t wrong though - this bill would stop small-town cops from buying tanks (without public support).
Anyhow, it’s heartening to see a lawmaker taking opposition to what happened in Concord, and trying to put more power back in the citizens’ hands.
Putting the issue of the pending military state aside for the moment, Why is Concord buying a $285,000 BearCat when the US Government is giving away used MRAPs for pennies on the dollar?
From one of the source articles:
[quote]All a local police department has to do to get itself an 18-ton MRAP—which originally cost taxpayers between $400,000-$700,000 complete with gun turret and bullet-proof windows—is send a few cops to pick it up and pay for the gas.
There are a few downsides: the things get only five miles to the gallon, can’t go over most bridges, or under them, and have a nasty habit of tipping over on rough terrain.
For departments that find them too unwieldy, the Homeland Security Department is also offering grants to communities so they can buy smaller Lenco BearCats, lighter armored military-style vehicles that run about $280,000.[/quote]
An MRAP would apparently have been bigger than the police department “needed” to deal with the rampant violent crime. So, naturally:
Concord didn’t buy it - it was acquired via a Homeland Security grant. Hooray, it was free!
The power to police comes from the citizens. Of course the citizens should be consulted before increasing police powers.
The fact that this sort of law is just now being created is just sad.
Would they be able to purchase a Herkimer Battle Jitney? It’s the finest non-lethal military vehicle ever made!
a decision justified in part by the police department’s stated need to fight protest groups such as Occupy.
Somebody 'splain to me again how there’s no class warfare in the US.
ETA:
She said in the wake of the Newtown school shooting and the Boston Marathon bombing attack, “we do need to be defensive.”
Of course, having a Bearcat would have made zero difference in either of those situations, but name-checking scary things is great politics. (In fact, Boston PD already has at least one of these, and it somehow failed to magically prevent a couple of assholes from setting off improvised explosive devices.)
She said in the wake of the Newtown school shooting and the Boston Marathon bombing attack, “we do need to be defensive.”
Or maybe we need to stop arming crazy people so heavily that the police need an APC to defend themselves.
I don’t see how you could possibly suggest that the police in Concord, NH actually do need and APC to defend themselves. Read through what the source articles mention about the crime rates.
Yes, this is clearly a crime ridden city, with a large population of armed lunatics.
Alternatively, if your statement was meant to reflect on the entirety of the U.S., perhaps this isn’t the best example to use to put forward your point.
