Vermithrax]It's fucked up but I think it's about time major news outlets started showing the American people how fucking ridiculous it is for American LEO's to have military grade vehicles and weaponry. Maybe now that's it covered by someone entertaining, the obs/sonya/whoever else camp will wake up and smell the coffee. Probably not.
There needs to be a better scale for escalation of force. I haven't kept 100% up to date on this story, but it does seem/look like the cops went to full battle rattle too quickly. When the crowd starts shooting and throwing Molotovs, by all means kit up to stay alive and disperse the mob (as is their duty, preserving the public peace). However if it is a peaceful demonstration, I don't think the APCs, sniper rifles, etc need to be brought out in the open. Have'em ready for worst case scenario, but stay discrete.
It does look like they need a lot better training for escalation of force, muzzle awareness, and general don't be a fucking stormtrooper until it is absolutely necessary.
