The (Masked) Faces of Police Militarization

The Lake County (FL) Sheriff’s Office has been receiving a lot of media attention this week regarding a public service announcement made by Sheriff Peyton Grinnell.

In the short video, Sheriff Grinnell, flanked by four masked men (presumably his deputies), glares into the camera and issues a stern warning that SWAT teams are coming for local drug dealers, and that police are going to “blow the doors off the hinges” when they arrive.

A message from the Lake County Sheriff's Office Community Engagement Unit.

Posted by Lake County Sheriff's Office on Friday, April 7, 2017

We’ve written a lot about the history of and dangers inherent in overly militarized policing.  Viewers can make up their own minds about whether the video above is what they want American policing to look and sound like.