Training Cops To Be Afraid

June, 29 2016 (Fault Lines) — George Hofstetter thinks cops need to be more militarized. He thinks the recent mass shooting in Orlando is direct proof of that.

It should also put to rest the bleeding-heart nonsense that it ‘looks bad’ to have officers suited up in body armor and riot gear and deployed in armored vehicles. Says George.

Hofstetter conveniently ignores the fact that cops killed more than a thousand people in America last year. This makes him a tool. Literally and figuratively. A dangerous tool. You see, Hofstetter is president of the Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs.

With all the news reports, videos and first-hand accounts of what is euphemistically referred to as “police misconduct,” you might be wondering what the heck they are teaching people at police academies.

Just about every academy has some sort of mission statement utilizing the words, ‘integrity, commitment, professionalism, dedicated, well rounded” and such, but it doesn’t take much effort to see that something else is happening behind those walls.

While these two outfits in Texas caught teaching excessive force can’t be used to judge the upwards of 600 POST (Police Officers Standards and Training) certified police academies across the country, this quote might help understand why what really goes on inside police academies remains a mystery:

During a defensive tactic training session, video was conducted for the purposes of cadet instruction and feedback. Video feedback had not been previously utilized by LRGVDC Police Academy and after evaluating this practice and as a result of this incident, this method will not be used in the future.

When he says “method,” does he mean making video that could be leaked?

One message that is hammered home incessantly at police academies is this: Be scared, death is around every corner, every kid, mother, grandma, five lb. Chihuahua, person holding a cellphone, can kill you at any moment. This despite the fact that instances of cops dying in the line of duty are at an all time low.

Let’s meet some of the people arming our cops with a winning combination of raw fear and military tactics. Retired Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman helps soldiers and police officers overcome their natural inclination not to kill other human beings. His method is called Killology.

Jim Glennon bought Calibre Press in 2012 and expanded it into one of the largest private police training companies in the country. Their courses are taught to around 20,000 officers a year. His courses push the warrior mindset.

Veteran SWAT officer Steve Claggett offers this and other gems:

As you approach a scene, pause and assess your 540-degree battlefield. Process individuals you encounter — their whole body, their hands, their pockets and waistband, their demeanor. What do you know about them…and what do you know about yourself in that environment? Don’t get hyper-focused on just one subject. Stay aware of potential secondary threats and threat locations.

In fact, perusing the gamut of police websites produces similar advice and makes it clear that significant numbers of police officers feel they are in a constant state of warfare, and they revel in it. Just take a look at the articles in the latest issue of SWAT magazine:

GOD of WAR; ARES-15 Mission Configurable Rifle…

What Mission? Inside on page 80: Mark Santoro touts the TFTT/CQB Tactics Instructor Course as:

All Killer, No filler.

Did these people get a taste of this stuff from the governments’ 1033 program?

This should concern every thinking, breathing person in this country because this mindset produces cops who are in awe of their marksmanship after shooting the face off a completely boxed-in woman. Or calmly pull out a gun and shoot a man in the back over a traffic stop. It produces cops who would say:

Go ahead. Call the cops. They can’t unrape you.

This mindset allows many of them to keep their jobs.

Even the Department of Justice is growing worried about the problem, and has issued some concerns: …that the high stress paramilitary model of training results in police practices that are contrary to democratic governance and that a structure utilizing university connections, experiential learning, and critical thinking would be significantly more effective.



While these are encouraging words, it would help if about five hundred thousand people in every state, county and town got on their mobile devices, land lines, strings and cans or messenger pigeons to their legislators and offered some very strong words about what will happen to their careers if they don’t rein this thing in before it gets more out of control than it is.

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