We are coming up on the 50th anniversary of the prison riot at Attica in upstate New York. Yes, I am old enough to remember it.
Conditions in the prison were brutal. The place was underfunded and undermanned. There was little professionalism in its management.
After about a week Governor Rockefeller decided to order the place to be stormed. By modern standards, the police were unequipped and untrained in such work. I remember they were dressed in bright orange rain coats to prevent misidentification. Forty-two guards and staff were taken hostage. Eleven died, ten of those were killed by the attack force. Thirty-two prisoners were killed, some after surrendering.
I remember Rockefeller ended his political future with the botched raid. It was the one crisis he faced most like what a president would face and he screwed it up.
Later, the state would use various tricks to avoid a large payout to those it killed. (The legal aftermath of the affair is shameful in itself.)
If you whippersnappers would like to learn more, I recommend an excellent history; Blood in the Water
Sometimes I rant about how overly-militarized the police are. But I have to admit that better training, leadership and equipment at Attica would have saved lives.
It is an excellent book, and the author is cool, too. Is “militarized” the same as “better trained, equipped, and led,” as you imply (or I infer from your post)?
Sometimes yes. A good police department can dress in shirtsleeves. A bad one can have all the fancy gear.
I read a book last year on the MOVE disaster in Philadelphia. Sure the police made bad decisions, but they also lacked basic training and equipment. They did their best, and that was nowhere near good enough.
I knew about it, the guard that had the massive head injury was a member of my parents church, he was never the same after that [he was an uncle of my kindergarten bestie]
Being militarized makes them better at military operations – something the police are notoriously unprepared for and bad at. It doesn’t necessarily make them better at police operations – something the military are notoriously unprepared for and bad at.