DEA Opens Drug War Fantasy Camp
Last year, the DEA was teaching people how to cook meth. Now they're teaching people how to shoot other people with guns.
Just watch this news report about the DEA's exciting public outreach program, which shows almost nothing except a bunch of people shooting guns and seemingly having an exhilarating experience. There sure is a lot of shooting involved in saving us from drugs.
Of particular interest is the instructor's reaction when the participating FOX reporter accidentally shoots an unarmed suspect. He laments the inevitable newspaper headlines, as though bad press is the real tragedy when someone is accidentally shot in the drug war. To be fair, we don't get to hear everything he may have said, but the clip is creepy either way when one glances over at the pile of innocent bodies our drug war has accumulated.
As an undergrad criminal justice major, I had the opportunity to take on a million dollar "shoot/don't shoot" simulator at a sophisticated police training facility. It was a unique opportunity to appreciate the difficult positions police officers can find themselves in. The weapon was a real glock, outfitted to shoot invisible lasers instead of live ammo. When you pulled the trigger, an amplified boom shook the floor and a simulated kickback threatened to rip the weapon from your grasp.
More than a few of my classmates panicked quickly, emptying their clips at the slightest provocation, and earning admonishment from the instructor. I performed well, taking down a disgruntled employee on a shooting rampage in an office building, then managing not to shoot an angry motorist who reached for his wallet in an aggressive manner. I've spoken ever since of my newfound appreciation for the awesome responsibility law enforcement officers bear when making life and death decision within a fraction of a second.
I've also never been more convinced that police must not be asked to make such decisions in the name of preventing drug transactions between consenting adults. The risk is too great and the reward far too small.
[Thanks, Paul]
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Comment posted by sicntired on Fri, 03/21/2008 - 2:03amsicntired In B.C. our courts have recently ruled just that.It's no longer considered OK for police to do kick in drug raids with guns drawn.This is a big change and it's due to the way we appoint judges in the province.My life long lawyer is now on the bench and although I lament the loss of a really good lawyer I know he'll be a great judge.Most of the current crop of judges were defence lawyers during the bad old days when the cops did what ever they wanted and truth be damned.They know the cops will say or do whatever it takes to obtain a conviction.There's a lot of real change taking place and it's the old police injustices coming home to roost.It wasn't that long ago that strangling an addict to prevent the swallowing of evidence was killing people.The last lawyer I used is now in Afghanistan showing the Afghans how Canadian justice works.I have the hardest time keeping a good lawyer.