We don’t usually think of local police officers in the United States as spies or military covert operatives, but until recently we didn’t have images of police officers as soldiers either, until we did.
The images of luridly militarised police in the United States emerged following the exaggerated response of American police to widespread protests that occurred in the aftermath of the August 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Over-the-top militarised and violent responses from police continued in the widespread protests that followed the May 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the hands of then-police officer Derek Chauvin.
The conspicuous display of military vehicles (tanks, armoured personnel carriers, mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles), aircraft, watercraft, weapons, uniforms, and other military hardware has become the focus of media attention and public consternation, and even efforts to curtail its use.
