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Originally Posted by New Era
Spoiler!
This is getting out of hand. Trump is indeed escalating things rather than act as a calming force. Even in peaceful communities are feeling the pressure of this. Sleepy Gilbert AZ has had two nights of violent altercations between protesters on both sides. Sadly the police department has remained on the sidelines and not provided a buffer of any shape or form. Therein lays the problem with the police in America, and spilling over into Canada.
Police officers are supposed to be "peacekeepers" and provide a service to the public. But police forces have become militarized and their purview is no longer to act a "peacekeepers" but instead act as a brute force implement for enforcement of "law," or at least the ones they believe in. The role of peacekeeper, communicator, and arbiter of issues within the community have been replaced with thugs who wish to enforce their will on the community.
Do you remember the days when a cop car was highly visible, so it would act as an immediate deterrent? Remember when an officer was dressed in an actual uniform, with tie, and spit polished shoes. Their duty belt was limited to a couple pouches and their side arm? Cops were approachable and were viewed as friends to the community. Fast forward to today. Cop cars are ghosted out - monochrome ghost markings that match the color of their car, blacked out windows, and internal lights - all meant to sneak up and act as an intimidation factor. Uniforms have given way to casual battle dress fatigues (cacrgo pant BDUs) and combat boots. Duty belts have given way to duty vests so they can load up with more equipment. Cops are now armed to the teeth with multiple ways to inflict lethal and non-lethal force. Cops are no longer approachable, and most of the get off on that.
That is the largest issue in all of this. The "warrior mentality" has eliminated the peacekeeper mindset, and as a result public trust has pretty much come to an end. Without that trusted arbiter, things will continue to escalate. Until that is fixed, we are in for a very long period of distrust and continued violence.
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I think distrust of the police has less to do with police appearances and more with their lack of accountability. If you meet a person with a gun, and they aren't even subject to the normal deterrents in firing it, how can you trust them?