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I see this assertion made about police thinking of themselves as "warriors" but I have yet to see this substantiated by evidence. It doesn't correspond to the r

I see this assertion made about police thinking of themselves as "warriors" but I have yet to see this substantiated by evidence. It doesn't correspond to the rate of people killed by police (that rate essentially mirrors the overall rate of street crime). I am even more dubious of the second claim you make. A US citizen has vastly better ability to attempt to exact justice for their own police force's actions than someone in northern Iraq or Afghanistan's tribal regions. Especially when the military is more likely to use indirect weapons and weapons with drastically longer range (artillery, airstrikes, etc.) the notion that an unnecessary killing is more likely to result in disciplinary action in the military is very unlikely - there's a substantial chance such loss of life isn't even detected.

CamperBob2 9y ago
It doesn't correspond to the rate of people killed by police (that rate essentially mirrors the overall rate of street crime). That's not an accurate characterization. Suggested reading: https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas-ebook/dp/B00B3M3UFQ https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Ameri... I am even more dubious of the second claim you make. A US citizen has vastly better ability to attempt to exact justice for their own police force's actions than someone in northern Iraq or Afghanistan's tribal regions. A deployed soldier may be more likely to succeed in hiding the evidence of crimes they commit. They'd better succeed, because that's the only way they'll escape punishment. The differences come into play when the rogue cop or soldier is actually caught. Military personnel are held to higher standards than civilians in many respects, while police continually demand to be held to lower ones.
- DenisM 9y ago
  Are you aware of Mai Lai massacre? That’s one we have been told about because there was no hiding it once congress got involved. There should be many others where nobody broke the ranks. [1] trigger warning: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre

CamperBob2 9y ago

It doesn't correspond to the rate of people killed by police (that rate essentially mirrors the overall rate of street crime). That's not an accurate characterization. Suggested reading: https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Americas-ebook/dp/B00B3M3UFQ https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Ameri... I am even more dubious of the second claim you make. A US citizen has vastly better ability to attempt to exact justice for their own police force's actions than someone in northern Iraq or Afghanistan's tribal regions. A deployed soldier may be more likely to succeed in hiding the evidence of crimes they commit. They'd better succeed, because that's the only way they'll escape punishment. The differences come into play when the rogue cop or soldier is actually caught. Military personnel are held to higher standards than civilians in many respects, while police continually demand to be held to lower ones.

DenisM 9y ago
Are you aware of Mai Lai massacre? That’s one we have been told about because there was no hiding it once congress got involved. There should be many others where nobody broke the ranks. [1] trigger warning: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Lai_Massacre