CMV: Police officers should never preemptively escalate the use of force in any situation and should be held to a strict set of rules of engagement regardless of how they "feel" about the danger of the situation.

I just want to single out one issue in your post, which is about street level police armed with lethal weapons.

In some places like New Zealand or Canada or Norway or the UK this might work, but one major difference between those places and the US is the percentage of the population that is armed with lethal weapons of their own, and the ease with which you can become so armed.

Police force must be armed at least on par with the average armament of the citizenry, or they will be routinely overpowered by simple gangs. We saw this effect during the depression and the rise of mobsters during an era where police firearms were heavily restricted and regulated.

/r/changemyview Thread Parent