"[120], The accelerating militarization of regular law enforcement during the War on Drugs and post-September 11 War on Terror, however, prompted some commentators to express alarm at the blurring of the distinction between civil and military functions, and the potential to erode constraints on governmental power in times of perceived crisis. The North Hollywood bank robbers carried fully automatic AK-47-style weapons with high capacity drum magazines and ammunition capable of penetrating vehicles and police Kevlar vests. The Oathkeepers say on their website they are determined "to take a stand against the egregious policy of using SWAT teams to serve search warrants on veterans and gun owners with no violent criminal history. "[118] In the late 1990s, following the Oklahoma City bombing, there were proposals to further limit the act to allow military participation in law enforcement activities in chemical/biological weapon and terrorism cases. [131], The Obama administration made a broad push police reform. "[109] Senator Rand Paul has proposed a demilitarization of U.S. police departments, stating that "The images and scenes we continue to see in Ferguson resemble war more than traditional police action. & News Media Condemning Release of Ferguson Robbery Footage", "Police in Ferguson ignite debate about military tactics", "Military veterans see deeply flawed police response in Ferguson", "Community Police Armed with the Weapons and Tactics of War", "Cash Flowed To Lawmakers Who Voted to 'Militarize' Police", "Amid Ferguson chaos, Rand Paul bemoans 'militarization' of police", "Will the Growing Militarization of Our Police Doom Community Policing?". If I'm getting my butt kicked I do not care what uniform my back up is wearing. Military Police are just soldiers doing a different job. Nixon Joins Obama Admin. The report found that a) many officers have the mistaken assumption that being "in fear of their life" is justification for the use of deadly force, but fear should not be a factor - it's a reasonable belief that deadly force is necessary to avoid death or serious injury; b) instruction about policies on the use of force is confusing; c) most training scenarios end in some type of use of force and officers are rarely, if ever, trained how to resolve confrontations peacefully; d) 80% of suspects shot by police were black - black suspects were also more than twice as likely to be shot due to a "threat perception failure"; and e) no consistent procedure was in place for shooting investigations, no audio or video recordings of officer interviews were being made, and officers are often interviewed months after the incidents. [54] The legislation was promoted during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan in the context of the War on drugs, and is considered a part of a general trend towards the militarization of police. They write tickets for military members and other well above their own pay grades. This is a first time one on me I ever heard of. T h i s p u b l i c a t i o n i s a m a j o r revision.