John Oliver Tackles Pointless Police Militarization in Ferguson
The police response to protesters in Ferguson, Mo., raised a lot more questions than it answered, and John Oliver took aim at one of the biggest on Sunday's Last Week Tonight: Why the hell does a local police force have all this military-grade equipment?
And, speaking of taking aim, why are heavily-armed Ferguson cops walking around with their weapons pointed, even though actual members of the military say that's only appropriate when you intend to shoot?
A police force with equipment that's grossly overpowered for its task and not enough training to properly use it is just one of many problems with the Ferguson situation—Oliver briefly gets into the glaring racial component to the way it's been but there's only so much you can properly cover in a 15-minute comedy segment, and his message boils down to this: The police should dress for the job they have, not the job they want.
And keep in mind that this was recorded before Missouri governor Jay Nixon called in the national guard, not to protect Ferguson's citizens, but to guard the police command post.