Police are getting more and more like the military, report finds
America’s police forces are becoming more and more militarized, and it’s costing money and lives.
A new report from the America Civil Liberties Union dives into the deployment of SWAT teams by local and state police agencies, and the results aren’t pretty. Out of 818 SWAT raids carried out in 11 states from 2010 to 2013, seven ended with civilians dying because of the raids. There were also 46 civilian injuries.
While SWAT teams were originally meant for riot control and active shooter situations, the study found that 62% of missions were actually drug searches, with 79% of raids involving private homes. Only 7% of raids lined up with how SWAT teams were intended to be used.
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