[kdeberk]

> If the crime involved is not violent and the suspect has no history of assaulting police officers (or perhaps any history of violent acts), it should basically be a criminal act for the police to initiate the use of force during the apprehension.

I think I agree.

> You are making a huge leap from the presence of weapons to the use of violence against other people.

I think police officers has to put their lives on the line. I'm not saying that SWAT teams have to use violence, I'm only saying that police officers should come prepared with semi-automatic firearms and body armor if there is a suspicion that the suspect will be armed.

[sophacles]

Firefighters/EMTs also put their lives on the line - responding to medic calls in the wrong neighborhood is dangerous, combative patients (such as those with weird blood sugar levels or medication issues), mean dogs, and so on are risks. Perhaps we should grant them special protections and reasoning to start putting people and animals down at will too. Right now if an EMT killed a combative patient or a dog, all hell would break loose on them, yet they are in danger too. Yes, police are in a different situation, but not IMO different enough to warrant free reign.

[kdeberk]

I'm not saying that SWAT-teams should have free-reign. I fully agree that they need to be held accountable for their actions.

Edit: Fixed some terrible grammar.

[maxerickson]

Police in the U.S. carry high capacity semi-automatic pistols as a matter of course. I think they also frequently wear bullet proof vests on normal duty. Swat teams wear more armor and typically carry submachine guns that are capable of fully automatic fire.

Part of protecting people that do not have a history of violence is giving them the benefit of the doubt. Sure, there need to be lines drawn that allow the police to protect themselves, but anyone choosing to be a cop is going to be aware of the fact that they will occasionally be placed in dangerous situations.

[protomyth]

The police officers are putting their lives on the line when they escalate a situation that does not require it. This is a non-violent crime. Send someone to take some pictures and arrest people later.

Without the SWAT team, this remains calm and less costly for the police and the taxpayer.