Chicago, IL—I can remember the days when the Chicago Police
Department rejected the idea of SWAT teams as a horrible idea. They
did not want the public relations fallout from the SWAT concept. They recoiled at the idea we would become
urban commandos.
They did have so-called heavy weapons training but that only
involved the Ithaca Model 37 .12 gauge shotgun, the .30 US M-1 Carbine and a
few 308 hunting style scoped bolt action rifles. These weapons were kept in wagons dubbed, The War Wagon and they were dispatched to difficult crime calls.
Ballistic vests were yet unheard of and our issued batons
were made of wood. Our required duty
weapon was a Colt or Smith & Wesson revolver chambered for a .357 or .38
special round. We were issued 12 round
of .38 special ammunition. They were
solid lead, round nose 158-grain bullets that bounced off most car windows.
Later they went to a hollow point all lead .38+P round that
was somewhat better. We were allowed a
second firearm either semi-automatic or another Colt or Smith & Wesson
revolver. Many chose the Dirty Harry .44
magnum Model 29 or 1911 .45 semi-auto pistols.
Now they heavily restrict the types of secondary handguns allowed.
Today they operate something they call the Hostage and
Barricade Unit. It’s a SWAT team by
another name. They have adopted military
methods and now they have all that commando equipment.
The militarization of police agencies is reminiscent of the
darkest times of Germany 1933-1945. They
created the Brown Shirts (SA) and later the SS to do things most honorable
military men would be ashamed to be involved with.
At a rapid pace our police have been ignoring our Bill of
Rights and advancing on Americans with military tactics and rules of
engagement. That is frightening for
sure.
The response by Boston authorities to raid homes and remove
families at gunpoint while they were looking for the marathon bombing suspects was incredibly
un-American and wrong. That was absolute TYRANNY!
The above photograph speaks for itself; police should not be
pointing military style rifles at our faces absent a real threat or probable
cause.
I can’t help but believe that our own government has nasty
plans for those of us that disagree with the administration’s Red politics.
Comments
OR SNACK BAR for that matter.
To are non German speaking readers he or she has made reference to "the night of the long knives" which occured on a week end in June of 1934. Of the 13 corps commanders of the SA, all known or suspected Gay's, only 7 were killed in the Roehm purge. The rest, along with the probable thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of Gay's remaining in the SA, were quickly reassigned by Hitler, who put the entire SA under the authority of Himmlers SS. Not all SA Gay's remained loyal to Hitler however. At least 155 SS leaders were killed in late 1934 and 1935 by "Roehms Avengers" who would leave a slip of paper identifying their unit pinned to the body of each victim. Hitler said it was for moral reasons but lied. It was political due to Roehm and his 3 million SA members being feared by the German High Command, industrialist's, and other powerful political elements Hitler needed to maintain power. These murders of Gay's and non-Gay's had ironically been planned and carried out by Gay's in the SS.