Dear future President,

     Hello, my name is Cody Harris, and I'm from Upton, Massachusetts. As a young adult I am starting to take more notice into politics and current events, both domestic and foreign. While I see many problems with our system, I believe the major, current concern in our country is the police force; specifically the intense brutality being brought onto the people. I believe this problem stems from the militarization of the police. The National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 1997, gave the local law enforcement these military grade vehicles, weapons, and personal protection via "Program 1033". On paper this seems like a good idea to fight large scale organized crime, and terrorism, but it has major flaws. If you are familiar with the "Stanford Prison Experiment", the general outcome was that in a situation in which one group of people is given an absolute authority and the ability to treat others as they please, they develop an extremely narcissistic ego, and commit extremely inhumane acts. I have noticed this theme across all levels of authority in our nation, all the way from the Secretary of States office, to the local police force. Officers are now not concerned with the manner in which they approach situations, as it seems no matter how extreme they use their force, they walk away clean. This theme is now starting to develops across the country, and I'm sorry to say, in alliance with the corrupt justice system that is now in place, officers who commit these atrocities (ex. assaults, murders) are able to avoid prosecution. They hide behind the defense that they acted in the name of "self defense", "fear of the suspect", "suspicious activity", "provocative movement", "failure to comply with police instruction", or my personal favorite, (thanks to the Patriot Act of 2001), "suspicion of terrorism". These are mere excuses for an untrained, over gunned, egotistical force to control the people. A great example of this is happening right now as we speak in North Dakota, on the front line of the pipeline installation. You have families with children standing at the edge begging for the halt of the construction in a peaceful manner, being met by fully suited men, looking like they are going to fight in war with large assault rifles. While they haven't fired yet, they are installing fear in the heart of the people. If you do not see the problem with that, then you are part of the problem. The police force were once looked upon as respectable, with the greater good and protection of the people as their drive for action. Nowadays though, I can't be sure I can say the same. While I cannot offer a quick solution I may be able to offer some insight into what I believe is the stem of this problem. Fear. Fear of threat from both abroad and here at home, fear of resistance from the people whom are having their rights stripped away slowly but surely, and fear of dismantlement of the organized, strict system that has been placed upon the “free” people of the United States of America. We have strayed far from the point our ancestors fought so hard for hundreds of years ago. I can no longer say we are free people.

The above pictures are from the North Dakota pipeline. You tell me if you truly believe this is necessary, or appropriate for a government to deploy this kind of response to a peaceful act of protest.