These are the latest examples of a long succession of overly aggressive police actions and they are certainly not limited to black people. For example, not that long ago members of the Occupy Movement, primarily in New York City as well as a few other areas of the country, were harassed and abused by the police for demonstrating against what its members felt were abusive and unethical practices by the government and Corporate America. Then there was the incident in which University of California campus police sprayed huge amounts of pepper spray directly into the faces of students sitting on the ground peacefully protesting.
What is going on, why are we seeing the growth of all these highly aggressive police units? Does the level of crime in this country call for that degree of force ready to go into action at any given time with so much firepower?
I recall, in the aftermath of the 911 attacks on the WTC, hearing the words "America will never be the same" and those words were certainly prophetic. In fact we might say that ever since America entered the 21st Century it has never been the same. These heightened police actions are proof of exactly that.
Let's look at this problem in more depth. Psychological studies have determined that there is a condition that affects certain individuals who have in their genetic code what is referred to as a "Warrior gene." It's a condition in which higher levels of aggressive behavior can surface at any time if such an individual is subjected to some form of direct provocation.
It seems that in these persons there is a high degree of anger that is always simmering just below the surface and can erupt any a moment's notice. In fact, as brought out in this ABC News article and video, "Scientists say one-in-three western men have a 'warrior gene' that predisposes them to violence."
This country cannot let its primary law enforcement agencies become a subsidiary of the military. There has always been a great danger that the U.S. military could be used in enforcing the laws of this country on a state and local level and so Congress enacted the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 as a means to prevent that from ever happening. Here is the key premise of this law:
"Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."
There are exceptions to this statement in that the military can be involved in catastrophic situations at the discretion of the U.S. president such as was the case with Hurricane Katrina or years ago when President Eisenhower sent the military into Little Rock, Arkansas during the 1958 school desegregation crisis. However, the law was designed to restrict military use to only such unique situations.
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