Health & Fitness
Are we living in a police state?
Would you be alarmed to see police officers with assault rifles outside your front door, too?!
We live here in Berlin in a quiet, peaceful residential neighborhood, inhabited by numerous children and pets; however, I just witnessed a disturbing incident today near my home.
Four police cars appeared in our neighborhood with four police officers. It is my understanding that an outside agency called in the police out of concern for the well-being of a mother and her adult son living in a house on our street.
What was very upsetting to me was the sight of a police officer armed with a military-styled rifle outside of our neighbor's house. Needless to say, all four officers were also armed with handguns capable of blowing one's head off.
My question is the following: is it absolutely necessary for police officers to come to a Berlin residence with a swat-styled rifle in addition to their canon-styled handguns? Does a domestic incident warrant such weaponry?
Yes, we are all concerned with the safety of our police officers. But I am also concerned about the safety of others, too, including the residents of Berlin. The bullets from rifles can travel miles and penetrate walls of houses. Shouldn't such weaponry be reserved for those truly rare and dangerous situations other than not uncommon domestic incidents?
I ask this question because in England the "bobbies" don't carry any guns at all in public while here in our country our police officers apparently now arm themselves with rifles in addition to deadly handguns, even in response to a domestic situation involving individuals in need of medical attention. Shouldn't the police first ascertain whether the situation warrants an assault rifle before arming themselves with such and bringing it literally into one's yard? Wouldn't you be alarmed to see a police officer at your door armed with an assault rifle?!
Police officers are public servants, not an army serving in Afghanistan. And the citizens of Berlin are not the Taliban or Al Qaeda.
I respect our public servants and, of course, I am concerned for their safety. But I am also concerned about the safety of citizens here in Berlin, Connecticut and elsewhere. I am not comfortable seeing a police officer outside one's house with an assault rifle because an individual may require medical treatment. What's next? Bazookas, hand grenades, and field artillery? How about a Tiger tank aimed at one's front door?
The question raised in my mind today is this: are police officers public servants or military soldiers? Is Berlin a a peaceful residential community or a police state?
In Great Britain the police officers conduct themselves in a non-threatening manner as gentlemen and ladies, walking the streets of London in the truest sense of the word as public servants, making themselves available to assist the public, not toting heavy armor and scaring the willies out of the citizens they are obligated to serve. If one is too afraid to serve the public without an assault rifle or a 357 magnum, then perhaps he or she should have chosen a different profession.
Incidentally, the mother and son were taken by ambulance to receive medical attention (possibly psychological), and I thank our police officers for getting them the care they apparently need. But I caution our police to exercise more restraint in the use of assault rifles and other deadly handguns in our residential neighborhoods. After all, we are not Rambo; we are their neighbors and the taxpayers who pay their salaries.
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