Investigative journalist Radley Balko says that American police forces have become more like armies than keepers of the peace. He traces it back to the creation of SWAT teams in the 60s, which led to increased use of military tactics and weapons. These days, there are some 50,000 raids each year as part of "wars" declared on drugs and crime. Balko is coming to Utah and Monday, he joins Doug to talk about how law enforcement has changed throughout history and what militarized police forces mean for citizens.
Radley Balko is a senior writer and investigative reporter for the Huffington Post. Before that, he was a senior editor at Reason magazine and a policy analyst for the Cato Institute. His book is called Rise of the Warrior Cop [Amazon/Indiebound]
On Thursday, August 29 at 7:00 p.m., Radley Balko will speak at the Salt Lake City Main Library Auditorium. His presentation will be followed by a Q&A. For more information, click here
