As his air quotes indicate, NRA gun guru Dom Raso doesn’t have much time for people who bemoan “the build-up of law enforcement.” He prefers to call police militarization “the evolution of a relationship between military and law enforcement.” Raso reckons people uncomfortable with these auto-wielding kissing cousins are paranoid. The recent Boston bombing is proof enough that military and law enforcement need to be closerthanthis. Of the disarmed populace sheltering in place during the resulting martial law . . .

Raso makes no mention. Nor the tens of thousands of unnecessary no-knock raids by militarized cops, all of which erode our liberty, some of which go disastrously wrong. Raso’s buff BFF – New Jersey S.W.A.T. Officer Jerry – agrees that police militarization ain’t no big thing. Cops emerging from MRAPs wearing flak jackets hurling flash bangs make perfect sense given the “projected way” terrorists would work over here.

As first responders, law enforcement “needs the ability to handle any size attack from any adversary.” Up to and including a Red Dawn invasion, presumably. Dom nods, so it’s no surprise that he says “it’s no surprise that our two organizations look and feel the same.” From there the logic (such as it is) falls down the rabbit hole.

“The more secure we make our country the less law enforcement is going to have to look like me when I go to hit a target overseas,” Raso opines, implying that increasing the number of citizens exercising their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms will somehow counter and reverse decades of police militarization.

Three words: War on Drugs.

Anyway, in case the “militarization is our fault for not arming enough civilians” argument fails the smell test – and it does – Jerry stops making sense altogether.

At a time when our country is threatened with so many obstacles, our politicians are pushing for the strictest gun laws ever, the government needs to understand that this is a time where Americans need to feel safe by protecting themselves. It is not a time when citizens should fear the police turning into a well-trained or perceived as storm troopers who are trying to take their guns away.

Translation: The government should support armed self-defense. To make that happen, the public should support the people in charge of enforcing the “strictest gun laws ever” and let them train and equip themselves like soldiers. “The more we work like a team,” Raso concludes, “the better off we’re all going to be.” Or not.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

177 COMMENTS

    • They can’t seem to do anything right lately except piss off their base. Its like they are trying to walk back all our gains and appease the antis.

    • We need to stop giving them money. That is the only thing that they’ll care about or understand.

      • “Them” being the NRA? You did see the disclaimer at the beginning of the video, right? While I don’t particularly agree with this guru’s point of view, it isn’t a completely invalid opinion. Would you rather the NRA not allow any opinions other than their party line? Free speech is a good thing.

        • I should have said that I’m not going to fund any more police state propaganda, as I already have to with my tax dollars.

    • Why did Founders of this country warn us about standing armies? Why is every state, if they care to survive, supposed to have a militia?

      A QUESTION FOR RASO: If our own government is worried about terrorism why does it sponsor Mexican Cartels and leave the borders open?

      WHY DO WE CARE ABOUT AFGHANISTAN AGAIN?

      A lot of drugs are grown there but I’m sure there’s no CIA connection today like there was in Vietnam and Laos.

      The guys that flew the airplanes on 9-11 allegedly were from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, places that our military is stationed.

      That’s one reason some don’t like us. Ever since guys like RASO have been “fighting for our freedom” on the other side of the world freedom has been dying at home. SCARY! How he has been taught not to think.

      If it weren’t for the WAR on DRUGS, SWAT wouldn’t have hardly anything to do.

      I hope the goons drop in on his castle one day while he’s eating his Cheerios like the wannabe’s did at Boston. WATCH NEW ORLEANS AND BOSTON SWAT AND MILITARY PROTECT THE CITIZENS
      http://assaultriflebrotherhood.com/2014/02/13/oath-breakers-gun-takers/

      You had better get involved in Restoring the Constitution because RASO might be coming for you. You’re probably on some list by now.

      • SWAT still shouldn’t have anything to do. Police control the time and scenario of serving a search warrant. They have all the time in the world to set up observation, find a pattern, and pick them up at a stop light on the way to work. They choose not to because its cooler to use all their tacticool toys and kick down the door like a real operator. How many of the 70k no knock swat raids last year would pass a reasonable person smell test? Less than a handful?

    • Hey Raso,

      COMMENT MODERATED

      There’s my petition.

      “To Protect and SERVE.” I am not a terrorist and I demand to be treated with respect. I am innocent until proven guilty and I will not comply with unlawful or unconstitutional orders.

      Oh ya did I tell you COMMENT MODERATED

      Craig

      • @Craig, wow! Did Raso ask you or tell you to do something unconstitutional or illegal?

        NO.

        Ya big dope.

  2. Given the things authorized by the NDAA and the Patriot Act, as well as the fact that the NSA is watching everybody everywhere, all the time, if you’re not concerned by police in armored vehicles using military tactics, then you’re an idiot.

    • Fortunately most cops are wannabeRambo Posers.

      As Harley owners – HellsAngels; MallCops – Real cops; . Marxist progressive libtard politicians – competent leaders/managers; Squids (including cute little baby seals) – Grunts

  3. The NRA has been moribound for so long this PR effort of late is proving to be a disaster. All the wrong folks. Message muddled and off target.

    More reason to contribute/join other orgs like SAF, JPFO, or state groups.

    • The SAF is first on my list for gun-rights donations. I am a long time NRA member, but don’t go lifetime specifically for times like this. If this is the message that the NRA wants to promote, then I won’t be sending that check next year.

    • The NRA was not “moribund” last spring when they were instrumental in killing the background checks bill.

      I got more than my membership moneys worth.

      Contribute to both.

      Yeps Dom’s statement was dumb…but OTOH, Dom doesn’t make policy.

      • +1
        I might not agree with Dom, but I do know that the NRA is still an instrumental part of preserving our gun rights.

  4. If the NRA don’t sack this fascist mouthpiece, I will be vindicated in continuing not to give them a single red cent.

  5. These two are clowns. The militarization of the police is a way for the government and the military to get around the posse comitatus act. Anyone who does not fea that should just look at the banana republics all over the world, and into our own history. Circa pre revolutionary war.

  6. This guy is right out of 1936 Germany, What a tool, I predict one day he will say he way “just following orders”

  7. Time to end the failed “war” on drugs. Police need to be a part of their community again, bring back the “serve and protect” idea instead of being confrontational. Yes, they have a dangerous job and they deal with dangerous people but that’s because we made monsters thanks to Prohibition Round 2. SWAT teams need to go back to being used only for the dire situations, not everyday warrant service.

    • And unless the NRA is planning on spending millions and millions of dollars on a major push to repeal the NFA, they need to fire this clown.

    • I suspect that major changes in the “war on drugs” would result in police forces many critics here would like to see. Police have always been modeled in part after the military, but it gets exasperated when enforcing laws that are a losing battle.

      • Yep, it’s made things a lot harder and a lot more dangerous for law enforcement officers.

      • Yep2. And once police militarization is institutionalized into a department’s organizational culture, vested interests will continue to defend it even as it becomes more and more dysfunctional. When we see campus cops making drug busts in MRAPS . . .

    • Unfortunately I think it’s way too late, even if the war on drugs ends tomorrow. Why? Because the other primary reason the cops are all tooled up and ready to go, is because so many Americans have been buying up some serious hardware the past few decades. It’s really a catch-22 – neither group is going to disarm first, and it ends up being sort of a cold war between the government and a large slice of its own population.

      Personally I can’t see any way to stop the continuing escalation of the whole situation.

      • I haven’t seen too many of my fellow civilian friends and neighbors buying up MRAPs and Bearcats. Or Barrets. Oh, and let’s not forget the drones. Or cell phone tower spoofing “stingrays.” Just where in Mogodishu do you live, anyway?

      • One group, agents of government, operate under privilege and are bound by the Constitution. Another group is protected from government encroachment on their RKBA through shall not be infringed. If there is a shred of constitutionality left in our government then it is clear which of those two groups should be disarming some. If they want the better armaments then they can resign** as agents of government and enjoy their individual RKBA like the rest of the People ought to be able.

        (** We are told that law enforcement officers are essentially officers 24/7. Therefore, they are operating on privilege 24/7. I don’t necessarily agree with that but as long as the claim is going to be backed up by the system then I’ll play along.)

      • But how much of that “serious hardware” ends up actually being used in crimes? A modern gang-banger is still more likely to use a Glock, or even a .38 Special, not a tricked-out AR.

        • Well there ya go again…. confusin the issue with facts and facts don’tn anything to people going on feelings.

      • Unfortuetly, I think you’re right. Look at what happened to all the Revenuers when Prohibition ended.

        • And history has shown the gov’t doesn’t trust the people and The People sure as hell don’t trust the gov’t.

        • I’ll look up “what happened to the revenuers” if I have to, but can you give a quick summary? What _did_ happen to the revenuers? Aren’t they just IRS anyway? Or was that your point?

    • Maybe they will, if there is a republican who is man enough to say “It was a mistake.”
      But I’ll probably have better luck waiting for a brace of nubile nymphets on unicorns.

    • The interesting part comes down the line, when all those tacticool toyz fail because the owning cities and towns couldn’t afford the periodic maintenance for them. I just saw a picture in another forum of a DHS Buffalo with an obviously blown axle seal rolling down the road bleeding lubricant. Wanna bet it “comes back home” on a flatbed?

      • Jus,
        The cost of operating and maintaining a military vehicle over its expected life is 3 times the procurement cost. Remember that cost is estimated on a vehicle that will barely move in its lifetime while its in use by the active military. These big vehicles are fuel and maintenance intensive beasts.

        Taxes federal handouts will have to go up just to have these MRAPs set in a garage waiting to be used. And lawsuits will skyrocket as the damage cars and house because they are not maneuverable enough in urban environments.

        Besides, like other wheeled vehicles, they don’t move well when the tires are burned off.

  9. Wth was that? I am not a cop basher by any stretch. And I am all for them having the latest and greatest tools and techniques to do their jobs safely. But there is a delicate balance to be struck and instilling a military mentality into our law enforcement community is insane.

      • The equipment and the mindset are connected.

        Training is dictated by the available equipment, and that training creates the mindset. If cops weren’t equipped to kick in doors with no notice at 2AM, they wouldn’t train to do it, and if they didn’t train to do it, they probably wouldn’t do it, period.

        Tactically, the whole “no knock raid” scenario seems like a really high risk way to handle a situation where no one’s life is actively being threatened at the time. SWAT teams do it because it’s what they are trained and equipped to do.

      • The piece of “equipment” that bothers me the most is the balaclava/mask. When on-duty police in this country feel the need to wear masks, something has gone way, way wrong already.

        • @Sertorius, …hmmm…..that’s a piece of equipment I haven’t seen used in a long time. Kinda went out in the late 80s.

        • ANY one wearing a mask and invading your home , is a criminal…even with a badge……NO knock swat…must cease….compile their results and convictions since started ….. they are not worth the trouble….they kill more than they save…..imho

          • Another thing a person could do for home defense in addition to motion-sensor porch lights are porch-cams and entry-cams and stuff, so when they break in, the video can go streaming live to some web page somewhere, or somebody’s telephone or whatever they do with that live streaming stuff. 😉

            Just recording it isn’t good enough because they’ll confiscate the recorders or just burn the house down.

    • I’ll take the founders of our country over an individual soldier any day. I’m sure Dom is an honorable man. I’m thankful for his service, but he is very mistaken on the issue of police militarization.

      • Just because he was a SEAL in the past does not endow him with mystical policy making powers or supernatural insight into human nature. He can be just as wrong as a school teacher. Maybe more.

        Always keep in mind that “special operators” are trained by DoD to do one thing and one thing only – kill people. Anything else is a secondary mission. DoD is not, I repeat, not an international charity, advertising to the contrary notwithstanding.

        • Bingo!

          DoD (the Dept of Defense) was at one time called the Dept of War.

          Which helps illustrate your point.

        • Kerry was also a veteran. Didn’t stop him lying to Congress about his own men during Vietnam. EVERY population has bad actors. Conservative, liberal, police, military, there are bad apples in each group and none should be given a free pass when they are wrong.

    • Working for the government and serving the country are two very different things. Lt. General Smedley Butler figured it out almost a century ago.

      • Heh. I find it amusing that every Marine has been taught about Smedley Butler in boot camp, yet “War is a Racket” has never found its way onto the Commandant’s reading list.

    • I’ve got nothing against soldiers, but how does serving in the military equate to possessing the moral high ground or possessing greater insight into political or philosophical workings? If soldiers believe we should all be disarmed, are they right because they “served their country?”

      • It doesn’t.

        I’m a vet and I will readily say that.

        Some of the people I served with weren’t much better than the vermin who tried to kill us every other night while deployed.

        The only thing being a vet gives is a bit more street cred with tactical and other military-related opinions.

    • Lots of people serve their country without promoting a dangerous trend that could destroy it.

  11. A militarized police force is a standing army. We all know what the founders thought of standing armies. Maybe we should go back to old school state militias if we need that much force. As least, then every able bodied adult citizen would be expected to defend their community in a time of crisis. Instead we are stuck with being “defended” by what has gone from being an institution of peace officers to a group impersonal government mercenaries.

    • Instead we are stuck with being “defended” by what has gone from being an institution of peace officers to the Praetorian Guard.

      FIFY

  12. This fits in perfectly with their recent strange “good guys” video, which seemed to have nothing to do with the NRA at all, but instead fawned over first responders and military for no particular reason – as if the armed forces and police need the NRA to survive.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sflb0PRviDw

  13. Lots of money to be made training & equipping fat Barneys to pretend they are operators and much of it is made by former Tier 1 types and the big arms outfits. The NRA knows where their bread is buttered.

    • No, sheriffs and police chiefs all over the country know. The NRA is blissfully clueless, as usual.

  14. What this country really needs is more Rambo wannabees in blue unis and MRAPs? I don’t think so.

  15. Look at all the down votes their video is getting. While I don’t like ad-hominems, I can’t resist thinking that cop looks like the typical aggressive, violent thug with a badge that’s all to common roaming the streets.

  16. I’m not an NRA member and haven’t been for a while so I don’t intend on commenting much. This is the lean towards statist/big government enabling that pushed me away from the NRA and keeps me away.

    • Ralph, Now that we are releasing the terrorist’s in GITMO small town America will likely need the stuff.

      • Only if small town America is in one of the ‘Stans. The US isn’t built to sustain terrorists like the rest of the world is.

      • small town America will likely need the stuff

        Yeah, I can see it now.

        Al Qaeda operative to Base: “We attacked Peoria!”

        Base to Operative: حيث اللعنة هو بيوريا، كنت الجمل حدب تؤخر

        (Translation: “Where the fvck is Peoria, you camel-humping retard?”)

  18. I’ve never been sure of how to feel about Dom. Now I know. He’s either completely ignorant or trying to sell us rotten goods. Either way, bye bye, fella.

  19. By the way, this is the precise reason for the disclaimer at the beginning of their videos. Dom’s opinion is his own, and everything he says is not necessarily endorsed or even agreed to by the organization as a whole. If they backed everything everyone said 100%, they’d never get anything accomplished because of the type of screaming overreaction that you exhibit.

      • However, the NRA *DID* produce and distribute the video. I guess that doesn’t count?

    • Matt, there are few times when I disagree with you but I think you need to go back and parse the disclaimer at the beginning of the video. I don’t think it sez what you think it sez.

    • I thought the same thing too, but the wording of that disclaimer is dubious at best.

      “the following video contains the opinion of an NRA News commenator and does not necessarily reflect the views of other individuals or organizations. ”

      That sounds like it’s covering the U.S. Navy and the New Jersey State Police. Key word “other”, Not the NRA. Most disclaimers that protect the company publishing the material state their own name in the disclaimer.

      either that, or just worded piss poorly.

    • I, and many other here, get your point and understand where you’re coming from Matt. The problem is that as an agent of the NRA, Dom represents the NRA. They can throw a disclaimer out as a shield in front of this guy and themselves all they want but it doesn’t change the fact that when he is speaking as a paid and branded NRA spokesperson it will be accepted as THEIR message and not just his.

      The NRA has been out of touch with its life-blood for decades and tone deaf messaging like this puts it on glaring display. How did you feel about the backlash to G&A when they ran the editorial saying we’re all being paranoid and stricter BG checks and increased legislation was a good thing? The fact of the matter is this: you don’t give the bird to the people who butter your bread.

      • @MR, “The NRA has been out of touch with its life-blood for decades…”

        How so Matt?

  20. I don’t have a problem with civilian police receiving military counter-terrorism training or even receiving military equipment that would be useful for counter-terrorism. But that’s not what’s going on at all. What you’ve got is a bunch of bored of their asses cops with all sorts of military goodies and very little training playing GI Joe on civilians suspected of the most trivial of offenses.

    Even the New York Times is starting to notice; http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/09/us/war-gear-flows-to-police-departments.html?_r=0

    ‘During the Obama administration, according to Pentagon data, police departments have received tens of thousands of machine guns; nearly 200,000 ammunition magazines; thousands of pieces of camouflage and night-vision equipment; and hundreds of silencers, armored cars and aircraft.

    The equipment has been added to the armories of police departments that already look and act like military units. Police SWAT teams are now deployed tens of thousands of times each year, increasingly for routine jobs. Masked, heavily armed police officers in Louisiana raided a nightclub in 2006 as part of a liquor inspection. In Florida in 2010, officers in SWAT gear and with guns drawn carried out raids on barbershops that mostly led only to charges of “barbering without a license.”’

    Almost sounds like their being critical of their messiah.

  22. I was hoping TTAG was exaggerating what Dom said. Sadly RF was spot on.

    I agree that there needs to be some special force that is only used when there is a large or unusual threat. That used to be the special weapons and tactics team. Sadly that has become the EWAT team. (everyday weapons and tactics).

    There is a difference between being prepared to deal with a threat and being able to take on Al Qaeda . Unfortunatly when you see police wearing camouflage in the city (how effective is that?) while riding along in their armored vehicles, it is hard to tell what they are doing.

  23. Dom Raso is a great guy, but I must disagree with him on the content of this one video. Go to the NRA Commentators web site, and view his other videos (great stuff). Then I think you will feel the same way about him that I do.

  24. I usually like Dom Raso’s videos but this one was a giant WTF. Take off the rose colored Wiley X lenses Dom!

  26. The states need to have some organization that is heavily militarized to deal with the rare big problem that MIGHT come up once every 10 or 20 years. It should not be the SWAT team in every police department in every city or town.

    Giving military gear to police officers is just a bad idea in so many ways. Once they have it, they think they need to use it regularly. “We can’t just let it sit there. We have to use it, to keep proficient in its use.” So they use it dozens of times when it is not needed or even remotely appropriate. BAD idea.

    I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, considering the idea came from the Obama administration.

  27. There’s a very, very good reason the founding fathers separated the military and the domestic police, and outlined that the Army cannot operate on domestic soil. I do not want to walk out my front door and see an occupying army capable of leveling my house if the local politicians decided I broke an arbitrary law.

  28. I have to part ways sharply with Raso’s message. A police state is the antithesis of liberty. The entire purpose of a police state is to crush the life out of a civilian population with force until they are conforming with the demands and expectations of a central power. Especially knowing how big the rift is just in the term of small arms civilians can procure versus what Law Enforcement and the Military have at their disposal is enough to sound the alarm (and enough to get the antis to simply rollover and say “what difference would it make, you don’t stand a chance even if they do decide to turn on citizens”). Currently it’s an eye opener but the abuses and threats to the general public are still isolated incidents, but the door is left wide open for some seriously horrible shit to happen in the future. Failure of the imagination is often the means through which horrendous acts are allowed to happen, with the case of a police state and the danger it poses, it’s not failure of imagination but rather refusing to accept a repeat of history because you think “it could never happen here”. Additionally the “lone wolf” existed 50 years ago, and 90 years ago, the lone wolf will always be around, we should not have to give up our liberties because of a lone wolf.

  29. Every SOF dude I’ve talked to (albeit it wasn’t a whole lot, because I was just your average Marine, but still had the opportunity to talk to them) thought the whole “Law Enforcement Operator” mentality is a joke. Raso doesn’t seem to think that way, but he also doesn’t put me in the mind of the quiet professionals that impressed me in Iraq and Afghanistan.

  30. Ya. The government is on the NRA’s side. Right. Buddy buddy until they aren’t. Imagine the looks on the faces of all those fat, old, bald, white men at NRA headquarters when their buddies finally no – knock their asses. I mean sooner or later some government agent is going to have the bright idea NRA membership records might be fun to go over. Just saying.

    • That’s assuming the NRA wouldn’t hand over the list if asked by agents of government. My guess, and it’s only a guess, is that they might not protest too much if a Republican President was in office. (That is not a statement about race but of politics, BTW.)

  32. My YouTube comment:

    Dom, you are lost. I respect what you’ve done as a SEAL, but you need to see the vast increase in SWAT raids. One child nearly burned to death from a flash bang that was thrown into his crib. The EPA and the IRS have SWAT teams. A SWAT team was sent to a no kill animal shelter in WI to confiscate a baby deer. Ridiculous.

    I’m a cop who works in the LA metro area full time.
    I’m tired of the us vs. them mentality of law enforcement, tired of the overuse of SWAT, and tired of the US public being constantly put on lockdown.

    If you and you’re high and tight buddy can’t see the threat that the militarized police pose to taxpayers and to Liberty, I suggest you spend a few less hours in the gym and a few more on The Truth About Guns and other sites that actually value Liberty as our Founding Fathers intended.

    • Well stated and thank you. I’m grateful that peace officers such as yourself have decided to pursue that career and continue to keep a sharp eye on Liberty.

    • Thanks for having far more wisdom than most. I occasionally paint with too large a brush, it’s hard to avoid with my home town PD, so it’s nice to hear that some police officers detest this whole tacticool overuse of swat. If it wasn’t so nauseating it would almost be funny. They look and act like fools.

  36. “The recent Boston bombing is proof enough that military and law enforcement need to be closerthanthis.”

    Uh….no. Most of the big plots 9-11 onward have been carried out by bad guys draped in red flags. The 9-11 guys weren’t interested in learning to land. We had the 20th hijacker and his laptop in custody beforehand. The Russians tipped us off about the Boston brothers. Wasn’t it the underwear bomber whose own father tipped us off?!

    No, the police and the government in general do not need more power nor more money to fight terrorists. They’ve more than enough of both already and continue to come up short. Failure on the front end does not justify excesses on the back end.

      • Morning Rich. The Islamic world has managed to create large numbers of terrorists over the last 1700 years without our help and will always do so. Most terrorist attacks are still (and will always be) attacks against other muslims. They don’t rate in the news media because no westerners are killed. Kind of like when a plane crashes. They seldom happen but when they do its a big news story and the press claims planes are falling out of the air like rain.

        • Well, they’d have a lot less impetus to attack Americans if Americans weren’t over their trampling all over their rights and terrorizing people who never wanted us there in the first place.

          AMERICA, MIND YOUR OWN DAMN BUSINESS!!

          • Read your history. There has been 3 Islamic Crusades into Europe in the east and one up through Spain. America was selected because we represent the Strongest and most visible country in the Christian World and modern technology makes it easy for them to scare people, especially westerners who lead quiet peaceful lives. And lastly they attack us because we breath.

  38. Every little podunk town, or bump in the road is getting a swat team, and an MRAP now.

    This is foolish. I live in a town of… maybe 5000 people, in a county of 20k people.
    We now have a swat team.

    I went to high school with these fools, and I’d hardly trust them with their department Glock, let along a big boy rifle. They get in their busted up old box van and act all operator. It’s quite cute, I have told everyone I know that I’ll give the first person to catch one of them wearing a shemagh 100$.

    So, blow it out your sphincter “dom”.

  39. “the evolution of a relationship between military and law enforcement.”

    Damn Mexico and other 3rd world countries have evolved to be light years ahead of us. Not to meant every dictatorship that has ever existed.

  40. We need more Andy, strong and ready and less Tackleberry this guy is making a lot of money off of the Tackleberie’s and the gov’s that hire them.

  41. I know I’ve said this before but it is worth repeating.

    The role of the policy is to serve and protect the public.

    The role of the military is to search and destroy enemies of the state.

    When the police become militarized, the public become enemies of the state.

    While the police abs military have better gear, what we can do is to get better with what we have. During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Russians feared the mujahadine who were using the old full-power bolt-action rifles because the users knew what they were doing and they outranged the AK47 and AK74 by a good margin. Not to mention what happened at the receiving end.

    We have to be more skilled and creative in the response.

    • I’ve heard it expressed thusly:

      The role of the police is to keep the peace. The role of the military is to kill people and blow shit up.

      Anyone who can’t see the difference is dangerous.

      • Actually the SCOTUS has ruled that it’s not the responsibility of the police to protect anybody. Their responsibility is to apprehend those that break the law. The military forces responsibility is to protect the Constitution of the United States. The problems start with how these responsibilities get perverted.

  42. I do not believe that it is wrong for a police force to equip themselves with good gear, especially if they still manage to keep within a reasonable budget. Carrying a rifle or a pistol while on patrol, looking like they’re in a simple uniform or a full suit of armor, all the same to me. Kind of hard to keep within an actual budget if you’re going all out with the equipment, but you get the idea.

    What should be the focus of worry and criticism is solely the training and mentality being instilled in the cops, that is, the so called “military” attitude of us-versus-them, blues-and-tangos, the highly hostile and violent reactions to anyone so much as perceived as a potential threat, etc. Given the current political context, it should be obvious that this is meant to prepare them to fight an armed militia uprising in the near future, but it is wrong on every level when it comes to being truly helpful to the community and keeping the peace. Can’t justify this kind of behavior on needing the keep pace with the “modern terrorist threat” when you have a false-flag-happy government in power anyway.

    If you believe that a disparity in what kind of equipment law enforcement (and military) can acquire is a reason for restricting their access to them, I would argue the opposite way around, that it instead makes a better case for allowing civilians to have the same access as LE/MIL.

    2cents

  43. I questioned Mr Raso about a similar statement a few months ago. He coulf not be persauded that law enforcement iw supposed to be a line jn the sand against tyranny, not blindly carry out unconstitutional SWAT raids. He was adamnant that the guys are “just following orders” (like the Nazi’s claimed) because they have families to feed.

    Needless to say I lost all respect for him immediately. He suffers from Police.Operator.Syndrome – aka P.O.S.

    • So he feels that the Nuremburg Defense is ok, depending on who’s using it. This nonsense that a cop’s need to “put food on the table” and “make it home at the end of the day” is more important than the public’s safety has gotten way out of hand.

  44. The recent Boston bombing is proof enough that military and law enforcement need to be closerthanthis.

    This is absolutely insane. The Boston bombing put the failures of police militarization on glaring display. Not only was the tacticool stuff only broken out once they were hunting for one suspect who was unarmed, not only did all the armored vehicles and holding civilians at gunpoint fail to find him, but it also ended in a circular firing squad (the 2nd such circular firing squad in 24 hours, the first having happened on Laurel street).

  45. What a joke.

    So what was their excuse for police militarization for the Boston bombing?

    Oh wait, 9/11 and “terror”, silly me.

  46. Jerry is also the same guy who said this:

    “once they put these high capacity magazines and assault weapon bans back in place, I’ll be locking up the average everyday citizen, and we’ll consider those violence crime offenders. Just the mere possession of the guns they’ve owned will make them criminals.”

  47. We need to all email the NRA about this, and inform them that some of us will not be renewing our memberships due to this.

    Also, we need to call them out on their “good guys = cops and military” nonsense. We’re the ones paying full price for memberships while they fawn all over them. No one’s trying to take the police or military’s rights away, just ours!

  50. This guy is a soldier that is why he has this type of mentality , he is a part of the militarization of the law enforcement in this nation , there are a lot of ex-military folks in law enforcement and a lot of them have not been able to shed the military like training they have gone through , to settle into the civilian job , but also you have the Feds pushing these folks more into staying military to have already trained troops to be there when total federalization comes about . But these are not the type of former military that are on the so-called list of potential domestic terrorists , because they are still within the government power threshold . The potential domestic terrorist type of ex- military , are the folks who have either been outspoken against the government or refuse to help the government in other ways . No matter what to me within the past decade we have seen the federal government do what it can to take our freedom and build more support for fighting a protracted battle here on our soil , by arming federal agencies that really have nothing to do with fighting terrorism , to me it looks like they are preparing for war against us , because they have no way to invade another nation . Be prepared and ready . Keep your powder dry .

  51. As done on that is active duty I have a love-hate relationship for this militarization of police. Now hear me out, and wait to criticize (I know it’s coming).

    Now, to start off, I don’t trust many police. I feel in the case of civil disobedience/complete govt infringement, most police will cave to the money and government pressure. On the other hand, we are facing an attack on American soil eventually. This is guaranteed. It’s just a matter of time that china will make some effort to attack us here on our own soil. It will probably start with Hawaii, as it’s a key island in the pacific. Possibly through Alaska and the Canadians will cave letting them march through to come here. Who knows. That threat is ever more increasing. You can’t win a war without ground forces. Period. End of story. Should we default on all the money we owe them, they will attack. We have something here that they don’t have in china. It’s called Fresh Water. The basic survival need. A “red dawn” invasion is pretty likely given the course of events. I wouldn’t put it past them. I’d like to know, that along with my arms )which wouldn’t be adequate for a long term battle should I get separated/family), I have acces to more not only on base, but at any police dept I may come across.

    • Sorry, that’s just absolutely insane. There is going to be no Chinese invasion (we give them too much custom, and they own too many US assets, any debt aside). Certainly not by way of the Alaskan-Canadian land route (The limited roads and the threat of winter would make Napoleon’s march on Moscow look like a roaring success). And if there were, we’re not going to be calling in police SWAT teams to repel it.

    • “We have something here that they don’t have in china. It’s called Fresh Water.”

      No, we don’t. Fracking is polluting water faster than we can identify new sources. And a drought is spreading across the country from the West. Try again, bub.

  52. These domestic pro-stormtrooper videos are more repugnant to me than the ones the Islamic barbarians produce. Both groups kill and maim American innocents, but the domestic terror groups are smugly self righteous about it.

  53. “Militarized Police” just seems unnecessary, and I am surprised the NRA sponsored this video.

  54. These domestic pro-storm trooper videos are more repugnant to me than the ones the Islamic barbarians produce. Both groups kill and maim American innocents, but the domestic terror groups are smugly self righteous about it.

  55. I’d never heard of this guy before, but from the comments here I gather he is (or used to be) an armed enforcer paid to kill those who stand up to the US government. If that’s so, it’s hardly surprising that he supports other armed enforcers paid to kill those who stand up to the US government.

    • @Ken Hagler, oh yes Ken….Dom has killed literally thousands of Americans. Men, women, children of every shape, size and color. If it breathes and is an American, Dom kills it. He crushes everything. When Chuck Norris sleeps (pauses actually) he sees Dom in his nightmares. Dom is so Anti-American he is going to dig up George Washington and roast his bones for breakfast tomorrow. Dom will literally kill thousands of Americans today….and tens of thousands tomorrow. Dom is so anti-American, he is really Kim Jong-un in disguise. You nailed it Ken.

      • I see your reading skills still aren’t up to par. He didn’t say Americans, he said anyone who stands up to the US government: Iraq (coincidentally after moving to switch to the Euro as the reserve currency, Libya, coincidentally after looking to switch from the dollar to a gold-backed currency, Afghanistan, for “freedom”, etc.)

        Funnily, I don’t see us taking all that “freedom” to North Korea, China, or Russia. Why is that?

  56. The police are a HUGE market for the firearms manufacturers. Was this video sponsored by the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 or the Remington 870?

    I hate to say it, but the NRA is all too often their shill. If dollars are votes, these manufacturers each get a lot more votes than your Average Joe member.

    A better gun rights organization wouldn’t take money from other organizations, but only from individuals. The NRA is not such a creature.

    • WE purchase all of those M&Ps through our taxes, and also by buying them ourselves at full price, subsidizing their ridiculous “LEO discounts”.

      Let the NRA and the gun manufacturers get by solely on purchases by the police and see how much they make.

  57. “According to FBI statistics, more than 130 law enforcement agents were killed feloniously in 1973, compared with 48 in 2012, the most recent year for which data are available. The reason for this decline is because overall crime rates have been reduced, Mr. Fox said.

    Statistics aside, there’s been a palpable, growing dislike for police officers in recent years, said Jim Pasco, executive director at the Fraternal Order of Police, the nation’s largest police officers union. There will always be ebbs and flows in terms of crime data, but the anti-government presence is real and is felt on the streets by officers, he said.”

    Ignore facts and go with emotion. Get military equipment. Destroy “enemies”

  58. I think cops need to go back to using revolvers. If there’s a threat they can’t handle then they should call SWAT.

    • I agree. When the police shot at the Empire State Bld murderer they fired 15 rounds. Wounded 11 bye standers miss twice and hit the guy twice. Revolvers would at the least lower the number of innocent bye standers because pistols carry fewer rounds.

  59. While I agree with just about everyone here that this opinion is outright dumb I don’t like all the NRA bashing. Have they mad missteps along the way…absolutely. Are they perfect? Absolutely not. Real question…is there any other organization as effective as they are at doing what they do? nope.

    When they put out the wrong message..you should absolutely let them know. Like it or not the perception is that they speak for all of us. But no one else does what they do…effectively anyway. If not for them who would have helped kill the background check and federal “assault weapon” legislation last year?

    • @Clark, agreed…but you have to remember about half or more of the posters here are leftist drones practicing the art of “misinformation”…standard TTP of communists. In other words, it ain’t real.

  60. AMERICA is not full of terrorists. The only thing that has changed is that the NEWS organizations have sensationalized what has been happening for decades. So the idea that we need to militarize our police is horse poop. My biggest threat where I live (Sub-burbs) is a car crash. I don’t need my local PD to have tanks for kids drinking underage, car crashes, and stupid noise complaints.

  61. My youtube comment-

    What a disgusting video. This goof, these goofs and all goofs like them wish to create a national police force ie-police militarization. It’s not only a unconstitutional idea but it supports the oligarchy and fascist system we are moving toward. These two here are the enemy of freedom, quite ironic being they are yacking about how patriotic and American their actions and wishes are. Myself and many knew this would happen, all those bloated defensive contracts of weapons and equipment used and unused for the war machine ends up back right here where they were built, on America’s streets. And with it comes veterans of war, about 15% going directly into law enforcement from war bring the war mentality with them into our public domain. There is no terror threat inside our borders, never has been. This is about keeping the war machine alive by introducing and expanding it into our domestic society. If they could have their way they would put a camera and machine gun at every intersection, they would fly drones 24/7 overhead and spy on our every action, word and thought if possible. Their version of what America should be is the wrong one and we will not let that happen. Not paranoid, to be paranoid would mean all these things like spying, police brutality and corruption, militarization of police, loss of rights and privacy would not be happening but I would think it is. All these things are happening and most of America does not want to live in that world and I’ll be damned if I let it happen without putting up a fight. Just because a minority of nuts and bad guys go out and murder doesn’t justify the use of a militarized police force. One of the most anti-American videos I’ve seen in a long while.

    • I haven’t seen the video, but I think I’ve seen this guy in another video. He’s the kind of pro-2A knuckledragger that is part of the problem. His kind are usually pro-drug-war and pro-war in general, and they never seem to get it through their headbone that it’s the war that’s the problem..

  62. I also don’t care for Raso’s (and his meathead counterpart’s) snarky “paranoia” comments. It’s not “paranoia” when you can find 10 articles a day about rampant police misconduct/atrocity.

  63. while I agree they need tactical training etc and need the weapons, the problem is look at all the corrupt cops. not all are corrupt but the few that are. the use excessive force etc..

    When was the last time a corrupt grunt had infringed on my rights or freedoms.

    if the gun bans ended, and the states put in their constitution that the cops were actually part of the militia and not the establishment, or for the governments use then I would be more for this.

    • The problem is not a “few” cops; it’s them plus the system which allows them to do what they do with no consequences or accountability.

  64. There’s a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people.

    • The second part first. I agree, it’s the old adage when all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail.
      The first part next. It’s a common misperception that the duty of the police is to protect the citizenry. SCOTUS ruled that it’s not.

  65. The equipment isn’t the problem. The usage is. Just need better training and laws on when the cops can use it. And yes this is one instance where more laws is better. Cops need to be held accountable for what they are doing.

    Heck why would they NOT want the best equipment they can get at their disposal. I chafe every time someone whines about even just the automatic weapons. Much less the MRAPs and stuff. Though granted the situations they need an MRAP for are incredibly far and few between.

    I also think you are misrepresenting what he means. It seems more to me he means that as citizens and cops work together the police militarization can actually work for us instead of against us.

    Though I do agree that he seems to heart police militarization enough that he’s overlooking some serious flaws that need to be addressed before more kids take a flash-bang to the face. Among other things.

  67. Instead of calling for him to be fired we should try to convince him otherwise. Someone should him an e-mail full of links to botched militarized police no-knock raids. About fifty of those links should cause him to reconsider his opinion. There was also a recent Vice video pointing out the absurdity of the whole militarization movement. A small town had a heavily armored vehicle and a bomb squad robot DHS gave them. They’ve never had the chance to use either of them in a serious capacity, of course. It’s a small town!

  68. Cops should go back to the S&W model ten revolver with 4″ barrel for carry. Otherwise, I get to carry everything they get to carry.

    • Look how many times the boat the boston bomber was shot and they hit him only once. Something is wrong with that.

  69. Got it right. Raso is way off base. Shame on NRA for posting what is actually an anti-gun drivel propaganda for the militarization of local police.

Comments are closed.