The Captain’s Journal – by Herschel Smith
At PoliceOne.com, one genius SWAT team member makes this remarkable argument.
Tactical teams seeking their terrorist prey in the greater Boston area did so in great numbers — numbers that would make military commanders in Afghanistan envious. Video footage showed the American law enforcement warrior looking for a fight.
Citizens cheered as the second terrorist was captured, jubilation spread across the country. We American Law Men were especially proud as our brothers in the Boston area took the fight to the terrorist. These men and women are true American Patriots — a testament to the “Warrior Spirit” in law enforcement — as tactical teams and uniformed officers brought swift justice and victory.
Warrior. Marine Corps training seeks to seed the warrior spirit, but rather than see themselves as peace officers in the finest tradition of colonial constables, SWAT team members now see themselves as “warriors.” And note the utterly heroic terms he uses to express the recent travesty of justice in Boston. “Looking for a fight” … “proud” … “cheered” … “jubilation” by the people.
But I’ve addressed this issue of the fact that they will never be as trained, qualified, or reliable as a well trained military.
As shooters, remember our rules for safety, trigger discipline being among the top rules. This is true for police and SWAT team members as well. It’s true because of sympathetic muscle reflexes. An example of this kind of bumbling stupidity is the death of Mr. Eurie Stamps, where the police officer stumbled over the top of his prone body (Mr. Stamps had done what he had been told to do and gone to the floor), and in so stumbling, the officer – whose finger was on the trigger of his rifle – squeezed the trigger and killed Mr. Stamps. Mr. Stamps was innocent of all wrong-doing. The name of the officer is Paul Duncan. His first thought when he killed Stamps was, Jesus, was that my rifle?” And it was, and Mr. Stamps is dead.
Now. Let’s discuss something that most people don’t know about Marine Corps training. My son was a SAW gunner in the 2/6 infantry, Golf Company, 3rd Platoon, during the 2007 combat tour of Fallujah and the pre-deployment workup. The senior Marines had experienced a tour of Iraq, and wanted their SAW gunners to have a round in the chamber, bolt open (the SAW is an open bolt weapon anyway), and finger on the trigger. They had seen combat and they wanted their SAW gunners with zero steps to shooting. Their lives depended on it. They also did CQB drills with live rounds, along with squad rushes.
My son had an ID (if I’m not mistaken it was during training at Mohave Viper). He tripped and had a sympathetic muscle reflex, squeezing the trigger of his SAW. He spent an extended period of time in the “room of pain.” They wanted him trained to overcome that sympathetic muscle reflex (which can be done, but it takes hundreds or thousands of hours of drills). He spent the time learning to overcome that reflex, and performed well during his tour. He also tried to teach his “boot” Marines the same way he was trained, but the Marines had begun to change and focus more on cultural sensitivity training and other COIN tools. He got out of the Marine Corps.
Why am I discussing this? Because no matter who you are, no matter how much time you spend, no matter how earnestly you wish it, no matter how many directives you write, if you are a SWAT team member, you will never be trained in such a manner. Never. You will never be trained like a U.S. Marine who has spent every day for a year and a half in pre-deployment workup to do a combat tour of Iraq. Because you will never be trained in this manner, your tactics are dangerous, all of the time, and in all situations. I don’t care how many times you have inexperienced Soldiers spend a week with you doing CQB drills. With the standdown in Iraq and Afghanistan, they oftentimes know as little as you. These tactics place people in danger when there are better alternatives.
Now for the next step. Nor should you be trained like my son. It isn’t within your province to do this. The militarization of the police and police tactics in America is an effort to sidestep Posse Comitatus. It’s a way to have a standing army police Americans rather than have the existing standing army do the policing of Americans. It’s a typical progressive, statist trick.
And just recently I remarked about the fact that I know people who were engaged in open carry near Lake Norman North of Charlotte (N.C. is an open carry state), where LEOs unholstered their weapons and pointed them at my friends. Someone will get killed, I said, and when they do, LEOs will not be held accountable for their hazardous actions.
Now let’s take a quick look at Boston under siege.
A word for you Boston SWAT snipers. You are a hazard to everyone within a solid angle of 180 degrees centered on your rifle muzzle, you dumb shit. Put your weapon away. No one needed you to do that. Rather, good detective work should have been the order of the day. Learn to use your brains.
Hey moron. When there is a child around, get your hand off of your damn weapon. I don’t care about your trigger discipline. When you unholster your weapon I don’t know what you will do. I have a child in my arms. Moron. Learn to use your brain.
There are many, many more such examples, and I’m not sure what the SWAT officer was talking about when he discussed the jubilation America displayed when Boston was locked down like a prison, but around these parts we were livid. We don’t want you. We don’t need you. We don’t see you in heroic terms. We think you’re dangerous and a hazard to the peaceable among us.
Finally, you have no moral right to unholster your weapon and point it at me, my family or my beasts. You don’t have a moral right to forcibly enter my home, and you don’t have a moral right to endanger me, my family or my beasts because you want to “go home at the end of the day.”
Oh, and by the way. I think your reflexive shooting of dogs during your stupid SWAT raids is cowardly and ham-handed (it happens all over America every day). If a dog comes after you when you force your way into a home, maybe you shouldn’t have been in that home in the first place. And most of the time if you can’t handle dogs without reverting to shooting them I think you’re a pussy.
http://www.captainsjournal.com/2013/05/12/the-hazards-of-a-militarized-police-force/