Behold the heavy hand of the law. Yes, these are (ostensibly) civilian police officers operating within the US. Welcome to the new reality in law enforcement.

In the US, it used to be uncommon for police departments to be equipped with military weapons and vehicles. Since the mid-90s however, more law enforcement units have become more heavily-armed and trained in urban warfare. While there is a legitimate need for SWAT teams and special equipment, the ongoing trend towards a militarized police force continues.

Recently this has been on display in Ferguson, MO and the results have made a bad situation worse. When heavily-armed police units fire teargas on civilians in their own back yards, you know things have gone too far. These events are corrosive both to civil liberties and police-civilian relations, which is leading to a breakdown in trust.

Resilient, healthy communities require trust to work. Not only do civilians and police need to trust each other, different communities need to be able to work together to solve problems before they get out of control. When that trust is absent, it is regular law-abiding citizens that suffer the most during the events that follow a break-down. Having a militarized police force does not help matters.

The solution starts with regular citizens who can stand up and begin the process of de-escalation. Local citizens and leaders need to have an ongoing dialog so that trust is restored and calmness returns. As Robert Tracinski writes over at the Federalist:

We could use some of Adams’s wisdom right now. We need a lot less jabbering speculation from the press, a lot less political exploitation of the case by rabble rousers, and plenty of calm but firm vigilance by local observers who can dedicate themselves to making sure that all of the evidence is gathered and weighed carefully.

One encouraging development from the recent events in Ferguson, MO is that regular people are now beginning to question the wisdom of having a militarized police force.