The Militarization of Our Police

Are the lines between the police and the military starting to blur? This is a question that many, including the American Civil Liberties Union, are raising, since the federal government is exerting more control over local law enforcement. Surplus military equipment in the way of armored vehicles, helicopters, military style weapons and surveillance drones are going to local police departments, thanks to  grants from the Department of Homeland Security.. .but, not without strings attached. Fusion centers are being created to share information among federal, state and local law enforcement. And, as police departments buy up military grade equipment, there is also an increasing use of heavily armed SWAT teams being utilized for non-violent causes, for example executing routine administrative searches, and using more militaristic tactics in the process. http://www.businessinsider.com/local-police-military-weapons-tactics-2013-3 
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/item/17056-obama-flooding-u-s-streets-with-weapons-of-war-for-local-police
 
The militarization of the police has been happening over many years. In recent times, however, there seem to be more reports of excessive police force and overreaction in situations. They appear to be blatantly violating our Fourth Amendment right to be secure in our "persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable  searches and seizures.."

One would think that if the police are investigating credit card fraud, a white collar crime, that a SWAT team of police literally breaking down a door wouldn't be necessary. But that's precisely what happened in Iowa, even though the police had a 'knock and announce' warrant, designed to give the homeowner a chance to answer the door without a violent intrusion to the property and persons inside. In this case, the knock and announce part was merely a formality, for no one waited for an answer. They rammed in the door and announced they were police. Inside though, was a legal gun owner who was coming out of the bathroom and heard the break-in; he pulled his gun but when he realized it was the police in the house, put the gun back into his holster. This could have ended tragically, had he not heard it was police. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2014/02/04/scenes-from-a-militarized-america-iowa-family-terrorized//?print=1

Several months ago, several black and Hispanic owned barbershops were turned upside down by heavily armed sheriff's deputies - people were handcuffed and held at gunpoint, while the SWAT team looked for illegal guns and drugs. In the end, 34 of the 37 were charged with "barbering without a license," a misdemeanor.  All done without a search warrant, because these were 'licensure' searches, not criminal searches. In New Haven, a SWAT team was sent to investigate underage drinking at a local bar. Several other raids such as these are outlined in the following article.  http://reason.com/archives/2010/12/13/the-swat-team-would-like-to-se

Now that more and more police departments are purchasing surveillance drones, we can expect to see more of our local police deploying them to locate suspects. A North Dakota man has the distinction of being the first American to have been arrested with the assistance of a Predator drone. He was accused of keeping a few cows who had wandered onto his property, and the drone helped locate him. This opens up many questions about the right of law enforcement to use surveillance drones without a warrant. http://betabeat.com/2014/01/north-dakota-cow-thief-is-first-american-arrested-jailed-with-drones-help/

And in Florida recently, a woman was told to leave her house during a police standoff with one of her neighbors. She left her home, and when she returned six hours later, her home had been tampered with. It seems the police had used her home, without permission, to gain a tactical advantage with the suspect, and entered her house without a warrant. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/02/05/florida-woman-furious-after-swat-team-orders-her-out-of-her-own-home-during-standoff-with-neighbor-and-what-she-found-when-she-returned-home/

Although it appears as though the Fourth Amendment is being violated with these tactics, there is legitimate questions over whether the Third Amendment too is being trampled on - "no soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner...". If our police are looking and acting like soldiers in war, then these incidents will challenge our Constitution in more ways than one.  This should be concerning to all Americans, no matter what side of the political spectrum you're on.