Might sound stupid but if Mike Browns friend was with him when it happened wouldn't he use his phone to record what they were saying or recording what was happening?
Not enough money had to make decision on what was priority, moderately priced recording equipment or... Spoiler
It is a hard call between those law enforcement/.mil only SBR's with ACOGs or some useless stuff like a dash cam. Even when the SHTF they haven't needed any of that crap. Cut their budget to the bone, that equipment is preposterous for a local PD.
To be honest the picture is St Louis County Police force but the point is I always assumed cops had cameras in their dashboard from Cops and high speed chase videos. Now it is a little frightening that in 2014 that a simple camera or audio device is not present in every cop's car, also that taser training is not taken by every cop (cop shot dad in front of 2 daughters when asked why he didn't use taser he did not have the proper training).
Why does a county PD need SBRs with ACOGs? SF hockey helmets? Are they dropping off of a helo and assaulting a building to extract high priority targets? This equipment is just pure ego driven BS.
A lot of that equipment wasn't bought by the PD but donated by the US military. I agree that most of that isn't needed especially for small police forces.
Not the SBRs or acogs. Not the vehicle. Not the helmets. Not the pmags. What is milspec in that picture? Most of it is SF type gear.
One other thing I am curious about is how much does it cost to maintain that equipment. Even if departments aren't buying that stuff how much of a bite out of their budget that could be going to other things is just maintenance and training?
I will concede to your expertise in military jargon but if by SF you mean special forces wouldn't that be military gear possibly donated by the US military?
That isn't the stuff that is part of the program you are talking about. Those guys have control of their own equipment and use it so hard it is junk when they are done with it. I wasn't trying to use jargon. SBR = short barreled rifle. Those are 11.5" barrels. They have them because they look cool, and peons like myself have to jump through hoops and pay a 200 dollar tax to own one. The pmags are 50 bucks each and not issued by the military. The military donated some humvees not that vehicle they have. The military doesn't have enough ACOGs for their own guys (because they cost 2K each) much less give away. They bought all of that useless crap themselves with public money. It is shameful.
If any police has access to that equipment whether donated or purchased and doesn't have basic capabilities like training in crowd prevention or non lethal disarmament/cameras in their cars then there is a problem.
IF you don't believe me, look at what treeman had. A way cheaper eotech sign (not an ACOG), kevlar not a hockey helmet, 14.5" M4 not an SBR. Nothing is the same.
I see what you mean and thanks for the clarification. I agree too that I don't see much need for civilian PD to have that gear.
Do y'all eat your young? When a couple of rocket surgeons go take over a bank with .776 round weapons while people are being held hostage; or any situation where a perp has a high powered rifles, what do you suppose the police respond with? Glocks? Are the police allowed to be protected with body armor? Or do we want guys on patrol coming in to save a bunch of people? You don't call in the military for a barricaded subject with hostages being held. What should the police be allowed to have? Where do you draw the line? No one wants the police to act like the military, but offers no alternative when there's a dangerous situation which requires a police response.
The cop car didn't have a recording device!? My word. But, the department has all this military equipment? I don't understand why non lethal devices weren't used…taser, pepper spray, etc. The officer must have "lost it," because lethal force did not seem necessary even if he "charged" the officer.
