Mike German, an ex-FBI agent, said immigration agents hiding their identities ‘highlights the illegitimacy of actions’

Some wear balaclavas. Some wear neck gators, sunglasses and hats. Some wear masks and casual clothes.

Across the country, armed federal immigration officers have increasingly hidden their identities while carrying out immigration raids, arresting protesters and roughing up prominent Democratic critics.

It’s a trend that has sparked alarm among civil rights and law enforcement experts alike.

Mike German, a former FBI agent, said officers’ widespread use of masks was unprecedented in US law enforcement and a sign of a rapidly eroding democracy. “Masking symbolizes the drift of law enforcement away from democratic controls,” he said.

  • @Azzu@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    219 days ago

    If I buy a bunch of apples and one is bad, then I simply don’t eat the one apple and throw it away. Similarly, if there’s one bad cop I just imprison it based on their illegal actions.

    The thing with the US police force is that enough of them are bastards, and nothing is done against their behavior, that you always have to assume that any one of them is a bastard. If it was only rare single bad cops and they would be immediately removed on first infraction, I’m sure there would not be a problem with the police.

    This is the rational truth and I think it was very simply expressed, without needing to say “All cops” nor “one bad cop makes everything terrible”. There is theoretically no need for generalizations in intelligent discussion. The problem is that many people are too stupid or not interested in intelligent discussion, at which point these generalizations might become necessary simply because of practical limitations. But we should strive to use the more accurate statement if possible.

    • @notfromhere@lemmy.ml
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      19 days ago

      You’re missing a critical part of the apples analogy. When apples start to rot, they release ethylene gas which is a plant hormone that accelerates aging in nearby fruits.

      So by the time you found the rotten apple, it has already spoiled the bunch.