There is great irony in the contrast between two broad trends. On one hand, when the Obama administration came to power, it insisted that terrorist suspects be treated with respect, and that their trials and procedures be handled more like criminal matters than as the infamous “enemy combatants”. The military should behave more like police.

On the other hand, there is the trend with our local police to arm, equip and train them much more like the military, and less like our traditional lightly armed peace officers. We aremilitarizing our police. (also here)

This story in the Washington Post tells the story of a police raid in Iowa looking for someone who was accused of credit card fraud. This is not the culprit of the millions stolen at Target, but someone suspected of credit card fraud.

If you read the article, you learn that the police, had a “knock and announce” warrant, and no reason to be in such a big hurry to get into the house. Nevertheless, they waited only seconds between their first knock, and battering in the door. Once inside, they are less than respectful to the people and property inside.

I find no fault in the police for wanting to protect themselves. After all, they want to survive their workday just like everyone else. Unfortunately, we have burdened them with an impossible combination of bureaucracy and pettiness. They enforce impossible drug laws and petty things like seat belt use, all under rules that would bewilder any sane person. Nevertheless, sympathy for the difficulty of their jobs does not justify misbehavior, or give the police a pass to harm others.

Police are public servants, not rulers. The respect they show to citizens is an important safeguard and reminder, not a cultural nicety.

If you read the “update” to the story, you learn that one possible reason the police were so aggressive appears to be because one of the residents, a recently discharged army veteran, had applied for a handgun permit.

How do we know about this police behavior? One of the relatives is a video tech, and likes to put up cameras. There were cameras scattered all over the house. Video footage during the raid reveals police disabling, destroying or covering up the cameras. Despite these efforts on the part of the police, the entire raid was well documented.

Possibly the worst bit of news in this story is the local “police department officials” essentially admitting that they have no written policy governing how raids are conducted.

Think about this – we have hundreds of years of precedent, from the Magna Carta to the Constitution to the Civil Rights act, all struggling to rein in the abuse of power by authorities, and the local police say that they have “no written policy” on violent raids on citizens’ homes. We have our soldiers getting killed on distant battlefields because they are forbidden to fire on buildings where people might be inside. What is wrong with this picture?

Our constitution is only an agreement between citizens outlining what powers will be granted to government, and how law is to be made. If officials ignore it, the constitution will not rise up to thwart them. Only people can stand up and defend it. Only people who accept its authority, and stand together in the belief that it is a valid, binding agreement, can oppose self-important officials who tell us that we must surrender our liberty for “public safety”. This is a very old story, and not a pretty one. The support and sacrifice of people willing to stand up for our constitution, and oppose those who ignore it is absolutely essential, at all times, and in all places. Abuse is not an anomaly. It is a disease that must be kept at bay. It is, as has been notes a ” long, twilight struggle“.

Without that diligence, our constitution is nothing more than a scrap of paper.

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