Joint Military-Police Drill: Black Hawk Helicopter Fires Blanks over Miami
January 29th, 2013
Last Thursday, police and the US Military broke the classic US legal principle called Posse Comitatus by conducting a joint drill over Miami. This shocking simulation of a night raid occurred just as the Miami Heat game let loose throngs of fans. Most onlookers had no idea what was going on when soldiers were seen rappelling from helicopters down to the Metrorail station.
The most bizarre aspect of this drill was the use of machine guns with blanks over a highly populous city. In fact, Black Hawk helicopters were used in the drill, and one of them even opened fire within earshot of an apartment building. The news report, visible below, features raw video taken by bystanders. In it, the machine gun fire can be heard loud and clear. Should the US Military be firing machine guns from helicopters in a city like Miami?
Hit the Deck!
At first, the bystanders who took the video indicated that they were unaware as to the nature of the machine gun fire, causing them to take cover. Since there was no way to let everyone in Miami know that it was a drill, many were confused and thought some type of attack was underway. Black Hawk machine gun fire is extremely and disruptively loud.
Should taxpayers be awakened in the middle of the night by machine gun fire from helicopters? Can the military not find any room in its near-unlimited budget for a training facility? Also, why would policymakers conduct a joint military and police training drill? The military engages in warfare and the police enforce laws. Neither would use the same tactics unless some form of martial law was being carried out on US soil. Police officers do not under any circumstances fly over to Afghanistan to help out the troops in battle, so any joint activity would naturally have to occur here.
Policy Fail: Conducting a Drill over an NBA Arena
Sports fans on their way out of a basketball game tend to be in an overly-excited and somewhat-inebriated state. Luckily, the mass of people coming out did not freak out at the sight of the military drill. If they had, there could have been some type of stampede or riot. Allegedly, the location was chosen so as to avoid residential neighborhoods, despite the fact that high rise apartments and a basketball stadium with a game in progress were in the area.
What if an armed citizen had been confused by the drill and returned fire? Are Americans supposed to presume that it’s normal for helicopters to fire machine guns in the dead of night in major cities? What effect might this have on veterans with PTSD who live in the area?
This is a truly disturbing trend. Even worse, very few media outlets have covered the drill, even though it was confirmed in the above video by a local news station. The US Military does not need to train in US cities, and police officers do not need to use military-style tactics. Posse Comitatus should be respected, and these types of activities should not occur on US soil. The militarization of police is getting way out of hand.
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