Just caught the tail end of “Dallas SWAT” on A&E tonight, and I know this is one of Radley Balko’s topics of discussion, re: Militarization of Mayberry. Generaly questioning the necessity of hyper-militarized police officers and their appropriate (innappropriate) implementatition throught the United States.

Tonight’s teaser is:
Team members charge into a house to apprehend a murder suspet; and, in the off hours, one of them has girlfriend trouble (Reality)

I saw the “charge into a house” during which they apprehended several men, confiscated a bunch of cash, and several weapons. The program noted that:

Although officers recovered several firearms, none of the men detained have been arrested or charged with any crime.

As the son of a law enforcement officer, I’m just curious as to how people perceive SWAT teams in general, and what their appropriate role is. I’ll concede that there IS a need for SWAT teams, and there are legitimate uses of SWAT teams. But their very presence, in many situations, opens up a Pandora’s box of problems.

Just something to think about over the weekend.