SALON: ‘Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book’: The new warrior cop is out of control

SWAT teams raiding poker games and trying to stop underage drinking? Overwhelming paramilitary force is on the rise

This is a must read by Radley Balko at SALON.. I think we have all noticed a militarization of the police across the United States. You’d have to be under a rock not to.

It’s probably not a good thing, either..

Read this one if you think it is: Elizabeth Daly bought water, and went to jail for it. Seriously.

Not convinced yet?

Maybe the story of Jeff Olsen.. his offense: Writing anti-bank messages on sidewalks .. he is not permitted to use the first amendment as defense, either..

What about the story of AJ Marin, who did the crime of …. writing in protest with chalk on a sidewalk outside Pennsylvania Governor Corbett’s mansion.. His citation: He  was arrested for writing a “derogatory remark about the governor on the sidewalk.” The “derogatory” comment that AJ was arrested for stated: “Governor Corbett has health insurance, we should too.”

SALON: ‘Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book’: The new warrior cop is out of control