Henry police arming up (Riverdale, Clayton: condo, homes, subdivision)

[arjay57]

This sounds way overdue. Clayton and Butts already have armored vehicles so it's time for Henry to catch up.

The Henry County Police Department is getting an armored vehicle and the ability to see in the dark as a result of last month’s deadly shooting of a pregnant mother and her son in the Eagle Ridge subdivision.

The county commission on Tuesday unanimously approved $383,000 to pay for a BearCat armored vehicle, 10 night vision goggles and 30 protective helmets to use in future emergencies.

More...https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt-...xNx1EskMAtEjP/

[CaliDreaming01]

I have very mixed feelings about this.

[ATLTJL]

Militarizing the police.

What could possibly go wrong?

[DreamerD]

It's time for Henry County to catch up? For what reason?!!? It's like this country is truly going to war against the masses.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by DreamerD

It's time for Henry County to catch up? For what reason?!!?

Bad guys are totally unpredictable and are capable of showing up at any time.

If they do, is Henry supposed to just put in a call to Butts or Clayton and hope their armored vehicles aren't tied up?

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Bad guys are totally unpredictable and are capable of showing up at any time.

If they do, is Henry supposed to just put in a call to Butts or Clayton and hope their armored vehicles aren't tied up?

It only happened because its Eagles Mnt Landing. Had it happened someplace like Riverdale off Hwy 85 it wouldn't have even made the news. Just pretentious efforts to make the locals feel safer.

[MattCW]

They should just armor the existing patrol cars and leave it at that. This big monstrosity is nothing more than power over and control of the populace.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

It only happened because its Eagles Mnt Landing. Had it happened someplace like Riverdale off Hwy 85 it wouldn't have even made the news. Just pretentious efforts to make the locals feel safer.

The standoff and domestic shooting/killing incident did not occur in the Eagles Landing community.

The standoff and domestic shooting/killing incident occurred in the Eagle Ridge subdivision, which is about 3 miles northwest of Eagles Landing.

It (the shooting murder of a pregnant woman and her son, and the suicide of the killer after wounding two cops during a 16-hour standoff with police) was a violent enough incident that it most likely would have made the news, even if it had been in a less-affluent area like off Highway 85 in Riverdale in Clayton County.

While I do not personally favor the idea of civilian police departments becoming more militarized out of the fear that those departments will be tempted to want to use that equipment in less serious situations, I can understand why a county like Henry (with a growing population of over 230,000 residents and an increasing amount of public safety incidents that continues to grow with the population) would want to acquire this kind of equipment after a harrowing situation like this.

Any cop will tell you that domestic violence situations and calls like this are some of the absolute worst and most dangerous that they go on because the aggressor is usually at the end of his rope and may be extremely prone to commit deadly acts of violence against anyone that is around, including a girlfriend, her or their children, and any and all police that may be on the scene.

So while I do not personally endorse or condone the militarization of civilian police departments in general, I definitely can understand why the county would want at least one armored vehicle available to deal with situations like this which occur all too often, particularly in urbanized areas.

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Bad guys are totally unpredictable and are capable of showing up at any time.

If they do, is Henry supposed to just put in a call to Butts or Clayton and hope their armored vehicles aren't tied up?

I prefer to not live my life in fear Our country continues to perpetuate poverty, slavery, racism, gender inequality, etc., and until these issues are addressed, there will be no peace. 1 armored vehicle or 100 will not make difference. The way we treat the poorest in our society is inhumane! There needs to also be more resources put into mental health. Lots of people out there need counseling and can't afford it. My fear is that with this kind of militarization, it will only get worse.

[ATLTJL]

If you look at the gangster rap from south central LA in the 80s and 90s, you can see this at work.

These people were not angry for no reason. A militarized police force was brutalizing the community in the name of stopping drugs. What they were really doing was terrorizing people and trashing their homes.

You don't get songs like Cop Killer and F Tha Police just because people think it's funny. Rodney King was the linchpin in a storm that had been brewing for a decade.