Police at war within themselves
By Kevin Palmer
Giving the local police more lethal force means the inmates have taken over the asylum. According to an August 2017, USA Today article, Trump lifts ban on military gear to local police forces, “The Trump administration lifted a controversial ban on the transfer of some surplus military equipment to police departments. The new plan fully rolls back an Obama administration executive order that blocked armored vehicles, large caliber weapons, ammunition and other heavy equipment.” Naturally, the “Dirty Harry” type police chiefs are ecstatic about acquiring more lethal hardware even though it does nothing to address the real problem within police departments, which is suicide.
According to a 2015, Badge of Life study report, “Suicide is the leading cause of death among police officers.” According to Officer.com, “For every one police suicide, almost 1,000 more is suffering from the painful symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).” Therefore, the real “war on cops” is the war within themselves. Moreover, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, “Intentional self-harm (Suicide) is the tenth leading cause of death in America. In 2016, there were 44,193 suicides.”
This means there are emotionally unstable police officers enforcing the law in a society of emotionally unstable citizens who abuse drugs, alcohol, steal, rob, assault, murder, molest, and rape. On top of that, police officers must deal with their own personal challenges. This leads to acts of police brutality most often perpetrated upon nonwhite minorities, especially Blacks.
For this reason, the Trump administration should have known police officers need more mental health assistance, not more militarized weapons. Indeed, the last thing America needs is heavily armed police officers at war within themselves.
