@9GKFN65 7mos7MO
Top Agreement
Giving the police more weapons and tools to enact violence against civilians will just further encourage them to abuse their power. If the government wants to tackle crime, they should make a better social safety net that actually meets the standards of other developed nations and pass policies to decrease poverty. Basically target the root causes of crime, over policing has shown to not to lower crime rates.
@9GKJHQL7mos7MO
I agree that some cops abuse their power but they should have acess to weapons and gear that can save their lives when dealing with criminals who also have weapons trying to kill the police.
@9GKL8JQ7mos7MO
The police defend the people within the U.S and fight the good fight, If they need military-Grade weaponry to protect citizens, have at it, our safety should be held at high standards to ensure our protection.
@9GKPX7G7mos7MO
No they should have access to more weapons due to the higher level crimes being committed if citizens can have access to many weapons then why cant they. They are just as able to have the same guns as citizens if not have higher powerful weapons since the training they go through is more advanced.
@9GKYRRK7mos7MO
What if an attacker is chasing you with a knife. and the police can't help from a distance. Or even so if you are under threat/ held hostage what are they supposed to do; talk calmly and hope and pray they put down the weapon.
@9FLS3RX 8mos8MO
If you were able to demilitarize the police who would protect you in your community and who’s from stopping from bad people to do whatever they want and whenever they want.
@9FM9PYF8mos8MO
There is no real counter argument to this, take away the power of the enforcers of the law and this country will burn
@9GTDNXR 6mos6MO
One party in a conflict being ready, trained, prepared, armed, and itching for battle is more likely to result in a battle, pretty obviously.
The police don't need military grade equipment to deal with the vast majority of crimes and having more people with access to military equipment will lead to bigger and worse conflicts breaking out such as if police get stolen from or if police are corrupt.
@9GY8GBWRepublican6mos6MO
Police officers tend to use too much force when dealing with complications, some even target people of color. I believe our police officers should not carry military-grade weapons while conducting business around citizens.
@9GYF6NR6mos6MO
Instead of getting rid of them completely they should be surveyed and tested on their mental capabilities, to root out anyone who isn't capable of putting racial bias aside and putting justice first. All cops must be held accountable for their actions and others must learn from their mistakes as well.
@9FRD2M3Peace and Freedom8mos8MO
Police officers tend to use too much force when dealing with complications, some even target people of color. I believe our police officers should not carry military-grade weapons while conducting business around citizens.
@9FLTDQ28mos8MO
In a poll constructed by kff.org, 7 in 10 African American citizens have experienced discrimination or police mistreatment in their lifetime.
@9GRFKWX6mos6MO
It it is not safe for police to have military guns because even with regular weapons people are getting "accidently" killed.
@9GQTJMGJustice party member6mos6MO
Police killed around 1200 people last year, making an average of almost 100 people a month, and this is all because of the way they use their equipment. Police need to not think with their finger on the trigger but think with their actual mind instead of just shooting because they think it's the right thing to do. More then half the cops that do these things don't even get into that much trouble, suspended at most and it shows how much power they have when it comes to these things, giving them better or more deadly weapons will just increase the death rate by an even bigger amount.
@9GYBPP96mos6MO
Police are funded too much money and don't do enough. More than often cops are racist and abuse their power. Police forces are needed but should be more carefully chosen for the job as it is to protect people and they tend to do the opposite.
@9GL488Y7mos7MO
I believe that such dangerous weapons might give too much power to policemen, and some could abuse it and overall resulting in the deaths of more innocent people.
@9GN7YRY6mos6MO
If the police get more military weapons like RPGs, assault rifles, and more they would have more force for situations than need because most people possess handguns and not military grade weapons. and even then the local police don't need it but, SWAT and other bigger agencies can have it to deal with bigger issues not the cops.
@9GPZQ886mos6MO
"In a free society, citizens should be able to easily distinguish between civilian law enforcement tasked with keeping the peace in our communities and the armed forces tasked with protecting our country from foreign adversaries."
@9GW99DF6mos6MO
Giving the police more weapons and tools to enact violence against civilians will just further encourage them to abuse their power. If the government wants to tackle crime, they should make a better social safety net that actually meets the standards of other developed nations and pass policies to decrease poverty. Basically target the root causes of crime, over policing has shown to not to lower crime rates.
@9GZRLN76mos6MO
Local police departments should never have access to military weapons. Giving ordinary people the access to grade military weapons is like giving a kid a gun and telling them when and where to use it. It's just not as safe, these sort of weapons should be held in the grasp of the government military.
@9GVD78C6mos6MO
Police need better training on how to handle issues without using force. While some situations do require a needed amount of force, many don't. With proper training, civilian-police relationships could be greatly improved and there would not be such a divide in support of the existence and function of the police force.
@9GKFF2L7mos7MO
With the number of police brutality cases we have already, if we give them military grade weapons I don't see those numbers decreasing. Regardless of the thousands of "good cops", there is a mass amount of "bad cops". If you get one cop having a bad day and give them military grade weapons, think of the number of people they could hurt instantly with nobody able to stop them.
@9GY8HM96mos6MO
This especially goes for the use of it towards people of color who have been disproptionately affected by police brutality for decades.
@9GF3RP37mos7MO
Yes, police should use military-grade weapons in the right situations. They have to be specially trained to use the military-grade weapons.
@9FQBGQWRepublican8mos8MO
Military-grade equipment is specifically used for the military, not the police. If the police were to use military-grade equipment then that would escalate the injustices minorities and other citizens face due to police brutality. In other words, it would add more fuel to the fire.
@9GVMG4Q6mos6MO
Civilians should not have to fear those who claim to protect them. Plus, police aren't robots, they make mistakes and have biases.
@9G4X3PG7mos7MO
Throughout the 20s there have been cops that have become more corrupt or became so scared that they failed to protect or serve anybody in the U.S.A.
@9FBV37V8mos8MO
I agree that police departments should not hold the power of military-grade weapons because they would cause too much trouble with it and more people would die almost everyday if they wielded that type of power and people will not be able to live a normal life with them have that type of power.
@9GHX2GL7mos7MO
The modern day american police force consists of many cops unfit for duty, it's said that most cops get 1 hour of police training per year. This is intolerable and should be obvious how this breeds corruption in our public law enforcement agencies.
@9GV7F63Republican6mos6MO
I would say the weapons that the police already apply are within a well standard. It just people need to understand officers have a job to do and if they have a hard case and it leads to bad circumstances doesn't mean give them military level weapons. As then people would probably debate de-funding the police even more now that their weapon system is higher and can cause more damage
@9GXDB9J6mos6MO
Officers are fine with the equipment they have right now, Maybe just give them more weapons to use in case of an extremely dangerous situation.
@9GHJTCP7mos7MO
Police officers tend to use too much force when dealing with complicated situations, some even target people of color. Police officers should not carry military-grade weapons while conducting business around citizens.
@9HBD872Republican6mos6MO
Statistically polices do abuse their power, so giving them this power of having military weapons is dangerous.
@9GCMZV57mos7MO
Defunding the police would create an image that law enforcement is corrupt and that’s not good in the eyes of citizens.
@9GGVYWQLibertarian7mos7MO
The police were militarized to combat terrorism yet they have used these tools to kill and attack countless Americans, they obviously cannot be trusted with these tools and them being funded to such an extent takes away money that can be used to help better our communities. Most crime is done out of poverty, if our communities and schools have the resources to properly provide help to most individuals, crime will begin to decrease. As for the more violent and hateful crimes, police tend to allow those crimes to go unpunished, so what does it matter.
@9GBJ87M7mos7MO
Recently, two officers were fired after paralyzing a veteran from the neck down in the back of a police van. All caught on video, it is seen as officers drag the man around the detention center and mocked him for not being able to move. The man is Randy Cox, and he had pleaded for help because he was unable to move.
You can read more about this situation on the CBS News website. This is just one example.
@9FWPD877mos7MO
129 billion dollars are spent every year on police departments. I'm in college with 18k debt and no income. I'm also 18. Do the math. Spend that money on better things.
@9FRHF948mos8MO
If someone with military grade equipment were to rob a bank that you or your children were in and police showed up with Glock 17s with 9mm rounds that would bounce right off any sort of body armor what would anyone be able to do. But if police showed up with a firming squad of high caliber automatic rifles I have a feeling the situation would be much more favorable.
@9F875JV8mos8MO
The police provide a crucial service keeping our gated communities safe and reducing their power would lead to lawlessness.
@D3fenceBobGreen8mos8MO
While it's true that the police play a critical role in maintaining order, the use of military grade equipment can sometimes escalate situations rather than defuse them. For instance, during the Ferguson protests in 2014, the police's use of military-grade gear like armored vehicles and tear gas exacerbated tensions between the officers and protesters. Do you think there could be a balance between maintaining law and order and avoiding the militarization of the police force?
@9GYCT6B6mos6MO
I believe cops should be surveyed to be testified if they are discriminating type cop and fire them because cops shoot innocent people.
@9FQF4498mos8MO
Police should never acquire military equipment, the equipment is only fit for the military therefore they are the only ones that should have the equipment. When the equipment gets old they can sell it to the private sector to civilians or reuse what they can for example armor and glass.
@9FNLJCYConstitution8mos8MO
The police even though they are not the military should still have training because things do happen in the U.S. not just in other countries.
@9H2BTNT6mos6MO
In a free society, citizens should be able to easily distinguish between civilian law enforcement tasked with keeping the peace in our communities and the armed forces tasked with protecting our country from foreign adversaries.
@9FWLSX5 7mos7MO
My position is YES demilitarize and defund the police. I believe that the big issue with the police and criminals is this arms race that we see going on, especially in my home town of Atlanta. At this point it doesnt matter who started the arms race, criminals or police, the outcome is painfully obvious. The question as to who should take the first step in throwing down arms I think is rather obvious. It should the centralized, uniformed, and regimented constabulary not the spontaneous, sparse, and unorganized criminals. We can vote for a police chief we can not vote for a mob boss.
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@9GFC8D37mos7MO
Criminals can become very dangerous and some have the ability to get their hands on dangerous equipment, and if police officers are going to risk their lives every day for us then they deserve to have the appropriate equipment to protect us and themselves.
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