Commenter Frank sent me this link. Very scary.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in suburban Houston, Texas is preparing to launch operations with a newly received Shadowhawk MK-III unmanned aerial vehicle, paid for by grant money received by the Department of Homeland Security. The MK-III is a product marketed for both military and law enforcement applications. Michael Buscher, chief executive officer of manufacturer Vanguard Defense Industries, said this is the first local law enforcement agency to buy one of his units. ‘The aircraft has the capability to have a number of different systems on board. Mostly, for law enforcement, we focus on what we call less lethal systems,’ he said, including Tazers that can send a jolt to a criminal on the ground or a gun that fires bean bags known as a ‘stun baton.’ ‘You have a stun baton where you can actually engage somebody at altitude with the aircraft. A stun baton would essentially disable a suspect,’ he said. The MK-III also has more lethal options available, capable of carrying either a 40mm or 37mm grenade launcher or 12 gauge shotgun with laser designator.
The drone wars have come to America. I guess it is time to start thinking about jammers. And drone viruses.
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3 responses to “Droning In Your Future”
The erosion of the Posse Comitatus Act combined with arming local law enforcement with military weapons is going to be the kiss of death to our freedom.
If you thought that the Army can’t be used as a police force, think again. From an article written before 9/11, about the erosion of the Posse Comitatus Act, it’s clear that we were already on our way to a federal police state in 2000:
One of the most controversial uses of the military during the past 20 years has been to involve the Navy and Air Force in the “war on drugs.” Recognizing the inability of civilian law enforcement agencies to interdict the smuggling of drugs into the United States by air and sea, the Reagan Administration directed the Department of Defense to use naval and air assets to reach out beyond the borders of the United States to preempt drug smuggling. This use of the military in antidrug law enforcement was approved by Congress in 10 U.S.C., sections 371–381. This same legislation permitted the use of military forces in other traditionally civilian areas—immigration control and tariff enforcement.
The use of the military in opposing drug smuggling and illegal immigration was a significant step away from the act’s central tenet that there was no proper role for the military in the direct enforcement of the laws.
The fact that armed military troops were placed in a position with the mere possibility that they would have to use force to subdue civilian criminal activity reflects a significant policy shift by the executive branch away from the posse comitatus doctrine.
Congress has also approved the use of the military in civilian law enforcement through the Civil Disturbance Statutes: 10 U.S.C., sections 331–334. These provisions permit the president to use military personnel to enforce civilian laws where the state has requested assistance or is unable to protect civil rights and property. In case of civil disturbance, the president must first give an order for the offenders to disperse. If the order is not obeyed, the president may then authorize military forces to make arrests and restore order. The scope of the Civil Disturbance Statutes is sufficiently broad to encompass civil disturbance resulting from terrorist or other criminal activity.
Federal military personnel may also be used pursuant to the Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C., section 5121, in times of natural disaster…
An infrequently cited constitutional power of the president provides an even broader basis for the president to use military forces in the context of homeland defense. This is the president’s inherent right and duty to preserve federal functions.
The author’s conclusion:
The erosion of the Posse Comitatus Act through Congressional legislation and executive policy has left a hollow shell in place of a law that formerly was a real limitation on the military’s role in civilian law enforcement and security issues.
http://www.homelandsecurity.org/journal/articles/trebilcock.htm
With Posse Comitatus an empty shell, and local police becoming armed like the Army, we are about to cross a line into a full fledged police state.
This isn’t the country I grew up in.
It reflects an ongoing war against privacy, always carefully couched in the language of keeping us safe.
We should all welcome being monitored!
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/11/01/new-gps-device-to-help-warn-domestic-violence-victims-about-abusers/
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/10/27/gps-shoes-for-alzheimers-patients-safety/
For our own safety, of course.
Bastards.
In the last year I have grown to hate this country and everything our leaders stand for, which seems to be the fleecing of me to give to the people who rob, rape, and murder my people.