Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 31 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds   

Soldiers Shouldn't Serve as Police Officers

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   No comments
Message Gene C. Gerard
In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita the Bush administration has asked the Department of Defense to reconsider its longstanding compliance with a nineteenth century law. The law prevents active military personnel from playing a role in law enforcement activities. But asking the military to serve as a police force is dangerous.

The law preventing the military from assuming a law enforcement role is the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 (PCA). Congress enacted the law after one of the closest presidential elections in history. Rutherford B. Hayes won the 1876 election by only one vote in the Electoral College. After the election it was discovered that President Ulysses S. Grant had dispatched Army troops throughout the South to be used by federal marshals to influence voting at the polls.

Congress and the courts have made many exemptions to the PCA over the years. The law does not apply to the Coast Guard, or to the National Guard so long as it is not under federal command. Also, the military is allowed to provide equipment, technical assistance, information, and training to law enforcement entities. The president can use the armed services to suppress an insurrection when a governor or state legislature requests assistance.

However, the Department of Defense has always maintained that the PCA prevents the military from performing a search, seizure, arrest, or similar police activities. The Pentagon understands that the goals of the armed services and those of law enforcement agencies are very different, as are their methods. Much has changed in America since 1878, but there are still compelling reasons for preventing the military from serving as a substitute for law enforcement.

The role of the military is to protect America's national security interests. Given our ongoing war against terrorism, the military must remain focused on fighting terrorism, at home and abroad. Requiring the armed services to act as a police force following a natural disaster would divert military resources and distract our troops, perhaps to the peril of the country. Instead, the Bush administration needs to ensure that municipal and state governments have sufficient resources to be able to rely on their law enforcement personnel.

The training of soldiers is different from that of police and other members of law enforcement. Soldiers are taught to neutralize a threat immediately, with any force necessary. Law enforcement personnel are trained to remedy a volatile situation by initially taking the least aggressive method. They are taught to draw their guns only when absolutely necessary. To require soldiers to serve as a police force during the tense periods that follow natural disasters would result in unnecessary fatalities.

Law enforcement personnel have responsibilities that soldiers never contemplate. Police officers must respect the legal rights of criminals, even in precarious situations. But as was evidenced by the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq's Abu Gharib prison, soldiers sometimes have difficulties conceiving of the accused as having rights. And law enforcement must be concerned with collecting evidence for purposes of prosecution. Soldiers are not knowledgeable on these issues.

Given the difficulties of using the military to function as law enforcement personnel, it's not surprising that President Bush has met with some resistance from the Pentagon. Paul McHale, the assistant secretary of defense, warned in a recent interview that, "what we ought not to do is convert D.O.D. into a department of first responders." The Pentagon has opposed lessening the restrictions of the PCA for many years.

In 1979 the Departments of Defense and Justice reviewed the limitations imposed by the Posse Comitatus Act. In a report they issued the Defense Department reiterated its desire to continue to adhere to the PCA. The report noted that the PCA protected the military from squandering its resources and becoming involved in legal battles which would prevent it from defending the country.

The military should play a role in the recovery efforts that follow a natural disaster. In fact, it frequently has since the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. But requring soldiers to serve as police officers is misguided. It puts our troops, the nation's security interests, as well as the legal rights and very lives of citizens at risk.
Rate It | View Ratings

Gene C. Gerard Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

_______________________________________________ Gene C. Gerard has taught history, religion, and ethics for 14 years at several colleges in the Southwest and is a contributing author to the book "Home Front Heroes: Americans during Wartime," by (more...)
 
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Bush Administration Ignored Coal Mine Safety Issues

Sex Education Programs Endanger Students and Violate the First Amendment

The Political Corruption of Science

Subverting the Constitution by Supporting the Flag

Tax Breaks for the Wealthy

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Endangers us All

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend