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How Federal Dollars Are Militarizing American Law Enforcement, 47 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1479 (2014)

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How Federal Dollars Are Militarizing American Law Enforcement, 47 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1479 (2014) UIC Law Review Volume 47 Issue 4 Article 16 Summer 2014 More Bang for Their Buck: How Federal Dollars are Militarizing American Law Enforcement, 47 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1479 (2014) Jeffrey Endebak Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.uic.edu/lawreview Part of the Administrative Law Commons, Law and Race Commons, Law and Society Commons, Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons, Military, War, and Peace Commons, National Security Law Commons, President/Executive Department Commons, and the State and Local Government Law Commons Recommended Citation Jeffrey Endebak, More Bang for Their Buck: How Federal Dollars are Militarizing American Law Enforcement, 47 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1479 (2014) https://repository.law.uic.edu/lawreview/vol47/iss4/16 This Comments is brought to you for free and open access by UIC Law Open Access Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in UIC Law Review by an authorized administrator of UIC Law Open Access Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MORE BANG FOR THEIR BUCK: HOW FEDERAL DOLLARS ARE MILITARIZING AMERICAN LAW ENFORCEMENT JEFFREY A. ENDEBAK* I. Introduction ....................................................................... 14781482 II. Background ........................................................................ 14811485 A. The Department of Homeland Security.................... 14821486 B. The Homeland Security Grant Program .................. 14861482 1. The State Homeland Security Progr am .............. 14841488 2. The Urban Areas Security Initiative .................. 14881484 3. Operation Stonegarden ...................................... 14851489 4. Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program ............................................................. 14851489 III. Analysis ............................................................................. 14881492 A. Militarization .......................................................... 14881492 1. Armed to the Teeth ............................................ 14881492 2. Encouraging the Warrior Mentality ................... 14931489 B. What’s So Bad About Warrior Cops? ........................ 14911495 1. Mission Creep .................................................... 14921496 2. Violation of the Castle Doctrine.......................... 14951499 C. Another L ook at the Shooting of Jose Guer ena ........ 14961500 IV. Proposal ............................................................................. 14971501 A. Rec ognizing the Problem ......................................... 14971501 B. Meaningful Reform .................................................. 14981502 1. National ............................................................. 14981502 2. State .................................................................. 14991503 3. Local .................................................................. 15051501 V. Conc lusion ........................................................................ 15011505 ON FERGUSON The recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, have brought the issue of police militarization into the spotlight. On August 9, 2014, Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed eighteen-year-old Michael Brown. 1 While law enforcement * J.D. Candidate, 2015, The John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Illinois. This comment is dedicated to my parents, for their love and support, and to my beautiful wife, Mai, whom I love dearly. 1 Multiple investigations underway in Ferguson shooting, KMOV.COM (Aug. 9, 2014, 3:04 PM), available at http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Heavy-police- presence--270609091.html; Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson Revealed as Missouri Fatal Shooting Cop, ABC NEWS (Aug. 15, 2014), available at http://abcnews.go.com/US/ferguson-police-officer-darren-wilson-revealed- 14791475 148014761168 47 JO HN MARS HALL L. REV. 148014761168 Vol. 47:4 investigateddifferent from the its circumstances predecessors, particularlyof the shooting, since Ferguson it had the residents benefit stagedof two yearsprotests, of planning. which escalated quickly into riots and looting. 2 On theLike night the ofshift August in conference 10, 2014, atscheduling, least a dozen other busin changesesses havewere takenlooted. place Among within these the was LatCrit a QuickTrip entity, including convenience concerted store, effortswhich towas continue looted anda process set on fire.of institutionalization.3 The riots and looting In recent continued years, on there and hasoff for been a week. a growing4 focus on how to capitalize on its critical niche, continue The cultivating police response the next to generationthe violence of incritical Ferguson scholars, included and ensurecommon that riot thecontrol bato nmethods. of outsider Generally, jurisprudence riot control is passed serves along. two Internally,purposes: crowdthe organizationcontrol and crowdhas shifted,dispersal. including Crowd acontrol gradual is changingoften achieved of the by guard kettling, in leadership,a tactic thatso toinvolves speak, policeas well officers as a downsizingwith riot gear in inadministration. formation, using For their example, shields andfrom batons 2008 toto move the present,or contain the theBoard crowd. of Dire ctorsCrowd was dis intentionallypersal, on thedownsized, other hand, with agenerally growing involves number the of useBoard of lessseats-than being-lethal occupied weaponry by tojunior break law up professors.the crowd.6 Police officers frequently use tear gas, flashbang grenades,Another smoke major grenades, development rubber isbullets, LatCrit’s bean -acquisitionbag rounds, ofand a physicalwater cannons space forfor thecrowd organization. dispersal. 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Naming2 Dave and Urbanski, Launching ‘Anything a New We DiscourseWant!’: Looting, of Critical Vandalism Legal ReportedScholarship After, 2 VigilHARV .for LATINO Unarmed L. R EVTeen. 1 Fatally(1997). 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See About-clash LatCrit-with-michael, supra-brown note 3- (listing theshooting professors-protesters on -thein-ferguson LatCrit- twoBoard-reporters/. of Directors and their respective law schools).6 Paul Szoldra, This Is The Terrifying Result Of The Militarization Of Police7 Campo, BUSINESS Sano INSIDER, LATC (Aug.RIT: L 12,ATINA 2014), AND available LATINO atC RITICAL LEGAL THEORY, http://www.businessinsider.com/policeINC, http://www.latcrit.org/content/campo-m ilitar-sano/ ization (last- fergusonvisited July-2014 5,- 8.2014). 78 Id. 89 LyleId. Jeremy Rubin, A Former Marine
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