The Militarization of America’s Police Forces

In the wake of backlash over the militarized police response to unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, the Obama administration has announced a new executive order which restricts what equipment federal agencies can transfer to local police. According to Cato scholar Radley Balko, over the last several decades, America’s cops have increasingly come to resemble ground troops. The consequences have been dire: the home is no longer a place of sanctuary, the Fourth Amendment has been gutted, and police today have been conditioned to see the citizens they serve as an other—an enemy.

“The Militarization of America’s Police Forces,” Radley Balko in the Fall 2013 Issue of Cato’s Letter

Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces, by Radley Balko

“Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America,” by Radley Balko