With a deranged narcissist in the Oval Office and his lackey controlling the Department of Justice, there is no point in looking to the federal government to curb police violence. Instead, President Donald J. Trump will do everything in his power to encourage it. In the wake of protests over the murder of George Floyd, he has demanded that governors crack down on protestors: “You have to dominate. … If you don’t dominate, you’re wasting your time,” he told them.
Moreover, most local police authorities are under local control — mayors, city councils, district attorneys, police chiefs, sheriffs. That’s where the accountability for police misconduct begins.
But Congress could take a significant step toward reining in that misconduct by passing a bill to end the practice of allowing the Pentagon to give surplus war equipment to local police departments. There is simply no good reason for police in any city — from Washington to Wichita — to roll down the streets in armored personnel carriers, armed with battering rams and grenade launchers. They are not going to war. American citizens are not enemy combatants. Continue reading.