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Flagg · 12-29-2013, 16:56

That's very disappointing to see.

A bit like seeing NYPD Hercules cops all tooled up in black with body armour, kevlar helmets, M4 to the front, and sunglasses on.

The guys who trained me would kick my ass 7 ways to Sunday if I did that in public where the threat level didn't dictate the need for it.

We were taught to reduce/mitigate the risk of intimidating indigenous folks overseas with helmets strapped/soft caps on where appropriate, sunglasses OFF when talking to people, and rifles slung and to the side/rear when talking to people.

The intent seems more to intimidate the law abiding, than prepared to deal with criminals.

I may be wrong, but it seems like a different planet from NYC 2000 when I took the missus there. NYPD was all over Times Square, Wall Street, Central Park, 5th Avenue, and the rest of the high profile, high traffic locations back then. It just seemed more discrete and comforting than what appears to be a growing perception of intentional public intimidation.

We talked to a bunch of cops while we did a few laps around Manhattan when we saw them static/unoccupied(who better to ask for the best place close by for coffee, pizza, beer?). Great bunch of helpful guys, but the video makes it sound like a significant culture change since then.

One of the things that worries me about the future is the increasing risk of low level corruption as the GFC continues to grind on people.

I wonder how much the 80's/90's boom played in reducing low level corruption?

Will we see a return to 70's Serpico-like problems on top of the impact on individual liberty/freedom?

12-29-2013, 16:56	#3
Flagg Area Commander Join Date: May 2011 Location: New Zealand Posts: 1,423	That's very disappointing to see. A bit like seeing NYPD Hercules cops all tooled up in black with body armour, kevlar helmets, M4 to the front, and sunglasses on. The guys who trained me would kick my ass 7 ways to Sunday if I did that in public where the threat level didn't dictate the need for it. We were taught to reduce/mitigate the risk of intimidating indigenous folks overseas with helmets strapped/soft caps on where appropriate, sunglasses OFF when talking to people, and rifles slung and to the side/rear when talking to people. The intent seems more to intimidate the law abiding, than prepared to deal with criminals. I may be wrong, but it seems like a different planet from NYC 2000 when I took the missus there. NYPD was all over Times Square, Wall Street, Central Park, 5th Avenue, and the rest of the high profile, high traffic locations back then. It just seemed more discrete and comforting than what appears to be a growing perception of intentional public intimidation. We talked to a bunch of cops while we did a few laps around Manhattan when we saw them static/unoccupied(who better to ask for the best place close by for coffee, pizza, beer?). Great bunch of helpful guys, but the video makes it sound like a significant culture change since then. One of the things that worries me about the future is the increasing risk of low level corruption as the GFC continues to grind on people. I wonder how much the 80's/90's boom played in reducing low level corruption? Will we see a return to 70's Serpico-like problems on top of the impact on individual liberty/freedom?
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