One of President Obama’s better decisions, says Adam Bates, was banning the federal government from distributing surplus military equipment to local police forces. The move followed the riots in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, where the police were condemned for their heavy-handed military response. The bad news, though, is that the Trump administration has now rescinded that ban, freeing the police once again to stock up on high-calibre firearms, grenade launchers, bayonets and camouflage uniforms. The all too predictable consequence will be more violence and more casualties. A study earlier this year unambiguously showed that, after receiving military gear, police departments were more likely to kill civilians (as well as dogs). Law enforcers always justify their need for this kit by citing rare cases such as terrorist attacks and mass murders, but the problem is that they inevitably resort to them in other situations, too. Witness the way that Swat raids have “ballooned from hundreds per year to tens of thousands”; or the way officers have slipped into using mobile phone trackers, bought with counter-terrorism grant money, for everyday police work. “It turns out that having a hammer really does make everything look more like a nail.”. (Adam Bates,  Newsweek)

This report is true and justified, but in a sense tends to trivializes the problem.  There are far too many – 712 this year – unprovoked deaths of (mainly) innocent people, most of whom are black, hispanic or mentally ill.  Instead of using a Taser or manhandling a suspect, all too many policemen reach first for their guns.  The other day I wrote something sympathetic about the fear all too many jittery policemen must feel, given the number of guns in circulation.  Thus does the notoriously misinterpreted  Second Amendment have the effect to putting guns in the hands of too many crazies and idiots while simultaneously taking away our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  America is in danger of becoming a police state where someone exceeding the speed limit can be gunned down.  The police are losing the support and respect of the public and seem to be totally indifferent to the fact.  Indeed, their mindset is defensive- aggressive, if that isn’t a tautology. It does not bode well for the furure.