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Apparently police in California are expecting things to get even hairier than they already are, since they’ve carted out military-grade armored tactical vehicles – basically the Barry Bonds version of the Humvee. As the level of drug-related violence in Mexico has shot through the roof, perhaps it make sense to assume that it will begin to bleed across the border and into southern California – but all the same it’s gotta be just a wee bit unsettling for the average California to see these things rumbling down their streets.

Something you usually may only see in Baghdad or Iraq, militarized or tactical armored and weaponized vehicles during riots and wars, has now appeared in Downtown Ventura California. This does go along with the militarization of police across the country. “The military vehicle was seen downtown Ventura, California, yesterday around 1:30pm. I was parked when it pulled onto the street ahead. It made a left hand turn and left. In the brief moment I managed to take one picture. What caught my eye was that the military vehicle was marked ‘Ventura Police’, Hope it goes viral!.” Mr. Remington told reporter Mr. Brian D. Hill reporter of USWGO Alternative News, FederalJack, We Are Change, and Before It’s News. So the local police across the country under the guise of National Security are buying up armored tactical and weapon-capable vehicles through the UASI and will patrol the streets using these hardened vehicles. The large gun turrets means that the police can fire weapons through them at the people outside of the vehicle. UASI is abbreviated for Urban Area Security Initiative. The UASI is a county wide group that is funded by federal dollars. Their goal is to improve security against domestic and foreign terrorism.

Although this may seem like a glaring violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits using the military for civilian policework, since 1981 when Reagen encouraged Congress to pass the Military Cooperation with Law Enforcement Act – the War on Drugs has given police a loophole to work through. Under this Act, police are given access to everything from military intelligence to weaponry so long as it’s used for drug interdiction.

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