What defines military conduct by police?

[The Grand Inquisitor]

I was wondering exactly what defines "military conduct" by police that would be in violation of the Posse Comitatus statue.

I know the group Posse Comitatus was slightly right of Attila the Hun, but to my knowledge, they dissolved into the mix of of far right extemeists and tax dodgers.

I'm not the first person who happens to think that the evolution of police and FBI tactics from gumshoe style detectives into black clad shock troops is militaristic.

I've always sort of assumed that PC has been compartmentalized in the .gov hive mind and has been just sort of left behind. Who exactly would prosecute this sort of thing---the federal government...


I guess that's the problem.

 

[isp2605]

what defines "military conduct" by police

PC is not military conduct by police but police conduct by the military.

 

[thexrayboy]

Semantics. Military conduct as opposed to police conduct would most broadly be defined as application of force to achieve a political or economic objective as defined by a governing body. The use of said force can and may cause casualties on both sides which are generally accepted as part of the activity.

Police conduct could be defined as the use of force or the threat of use of force to elicit compliance from citizenry and others in regards to the law of the jurisdiction in question. Use of said force is controlled by policy regarding its appropriateness and is subject to civilian review.

Now as for military tactics being used in place of police tactics, that's a horse of a different color.

Again, with modern courts and the mealy mouthed lawyers that populate them
words usually mean whatever they want them to mean only till it's convenient to change the definition to meet a change in agenda.

 

[Jeff White]

the police cannot ever be in violation of Posse Commitatus. Posse Commitatus prevents the military, defined as personnel on active duty in the service of the United States under provisions of Title 10 of the United States Code from performing police functions in the United States.

The National Guard is usually used when the military is required to conduct police operations in the United States because they serve under Title 32 of the US Code and are under the command of their governor and are not representing federal authority.

Posse Commitatus was passed after the Civil War to keep the former Union Army from being used to enforce the law in the South.

Jeff