Doesn't this just scream "To Serve and Protect"?Richland County, SC has armed itself with what appears to me to be an M113 armored personal carrier.* It's outfitted with a Browning M2, which I seem to remember can put a .50 caliber round through a brick wall.** So yeah, that's exactly what I want being fired off by the police in the middle of residential neighborhoods. Now the fuzz won't even have to come into your house to murder your pets. Hell, they won't even have to get out of their sweet new ride.
Furthermore Sheriff Leon Lott named the thing "Peacemaker" because he claims to just totally sweat The Sermon on the Mount. Attention Sheriff: there is already a weapon commonly called the Peacemaker. Choose another semi-ironic name for your
Did no one tells these Yipee-kay-aye jackasses that "War on Drugs" is a metaphor? "Marijuana" is not a codename for a mechanized infantry division that's about to roll down the streets of Columbia. Do their local drug dealers have RPGs? Are there land mines scattered about the lanes and boulevards of their fair city?
Bonus: The hits just keep on coming with this story. Here's the conclusion from Sheriff Lott's official web page:
In 1996, [Lott] made a successful run for Sheriff of Richland County. Upon taking office, Sheriff Lott turned the direction of the Department to Community Oriented Policing. The success that the Department has had in the community since that time can be measured by the civic and community oriented boards and committees that have asked for Sheriff Lott’s participation.First of all, does anything about the picture above say "community policing" to you? What community are we working with here, the Bakaara Market? Secondly, the best evidence he can come up with for the police department's success is how many committees he's been asked to sit on. I'm speechless. Really. Boards of directors and committees. The crime rates might be a good place to start when judging police effectiveness, but I suppose it's also nice to know that Mr Lott has helped out with the March of Dimes. I'm sure the good people of Richland County sleep well knowing that their Sheriff is active with the University of South Carolina Alumni Association.
* My knowledge of military hardware has slipped a bit since the mid-nineties. Perhaps the expertise of Mr Dunbar might be useful here to verify the make and model of this APC.
** I just learned an interesting story about the .50 BMG from Wikipedia. Short form: California outlawed the ammunition despite the fact that the weapons using it are almost entirely not man-portable (and therefor not convenient to committing crimes unless you have a vehicle like the Richland County Sheriff now does) and had not yet been used in the commission of a crime in California. Barrett Firearms, the manufacturer, responded by ceasing sales to law enforcement agencies in California, saying that if citizens couldn't have it that neither could the police. Well done, Barrett.
It appears to be an M-113.
ReplyDeleteAnd that does appear to be an M2. Maybe it's really a water cannon ...
Yeah .. that's it. They need a riot control water cannon. Put water tanks in the crew compartment ... naw even I can't swallow that one.
Why in the name of sweet shuddering Jesus do they need an M2? Are they going to go to war with North Carolina?
Short form: California outlawed the ammunition despite the fact that the weapons using it are almost entirely not man-portable
ReplyDeleteIt is always possible they banned it because of it's ballistic properties when propelled by a non-traditional source i.e. them suckers are heavy and you could hurt someone just throwing it at them.
Good thinking. While they're outlawing heavy, throwable things maybe they should ban volumes of the California Code of Regulations. I'm sure that sucker could crush a small child.
ReplyDelete