re: This is what’s being protested, the over militarization of our police force

I’ve had some good encounters, but mostly bad encounters. I’ve been slammed onto the hood of a police car on more than one occasion during a traffic stop. I’ve been frisked many times. I’ve been searched for drugs and alcohol in my younger days. I’ve had people riding with me questioned. All of this over f$&king speeding tickets when the officer wasn’t even using a radar gun. I’ve been stopped for “being in the wrong neighborhood”. I’ve been stopped for my car “matching a description”.

Yet when a drive-by shooting happened on my street not a mile from the police hq, it took the cops 45 minutes to show up. The officer was visibly annoyed at coming out to investigate, didn’t look for bullet casings, and never followed up. Neighbors found the bullet casings, and turned in security camera footage of the vehicles involved, let them know which vehicle did it (because it was one that drove through the neighborhood frequently, and they basically told us to f$&k off. My house had a f$&king bullet hole in it just inches from the living room window overlooking the sofa where my then wife and another friend were sitting at the time.

Many police departments have well-earned the animosity they see.