"Who's there?"

If you get the chance to ask, then the knock at your door is probably not courtesy of the local drug task force. 

For the record: I am a law enforcement officer. I despise that terminology, and greatly
prefer "peace officer", both as a job title, and a statement of purpose. But, those who wrote the laws authorizing my position and job title saw differently. When I Am King, I'll fix that. (Well... should I find myself coronated, I'd promptly abolish 99% of the laws, then abolish my own office.)

Anyhoo.

Many of us who serve are very troubled by the trend toward militarization of law enforcement. There it is again, that word: "enforcement". Not nearly so palatable as "keeping the peace" or "serving the public", both of which should be the goal.

The recent death of Kathryn Johnston, who lived alone at age 92 (or 88, depending on the source), and who died while shooting back during a raid by an Atlanta narcotics squad, has caused a great deal of discussion amongst my colleagues and peers, both face to face and on various Internet discussion groups.

If you've followed this story, you know that the police officers had a warrant; you can read it here. The confidential informant named in the warrant denies that he was anywhere near the house in question, and is in federal protective custody while the FBI investigates.

There are writers with greater status than mine, who have devoted much more time to scholarly research on this subject. I'll shut up now, and let you read what they have to say about it. (All links will open in a new window.)

Popular Science

The Examiner

Christian Science Monitor

 Please read, and keep this in mind the next time you want police to "just do something!"