Like it or not, our police are becoming militarized.
They used to be called "Peace Officers".
Now, they are called "Law Enforcement".
A further blurring of civilian and military.
Not
everywhere. Please do be careful not to tar all of us with the same brush. I myself don't even own a baklava or facemask, except for a tired old kakhi one that I use for deer hunting when it's cold. Most cops I know (admittedly, not
all are disgusted by officers in masks, except for extremely exigient circumstances (20 below, undercover work where the UC officer has to be on-scene during the arrest among other suspects. . . that may be it)
I see no problem with long guns in patrol cars of patrol officers, and that includes ARs or other "black rifles." I don't see a problem with them in the hands of riot/anti-terroist special-duty uses like this. Certainly nothing about these guys' attire suggest "Patrol Officer."
If it were the norm, I think that I would be pretty disturbed by that.
Consider this, though-- When you put on a uniform and walk amongst the crowd you're target #1. In a higher-risk time and place, wouldn't you want to place yourself at a higher level of readiness to meet the possible threat? The main question, though, should be this one: When the cop comes around the corner, does the citizen on the street view him with fear, or with approval that he's there? If the citizens on
that street, on
that night, were glad for
that officer in
that street gear to be there, then there's a certain justification for his manner of presense.
