“Because we were trained to fight a war on drugs because of that metaphor we felt like we had to have an enemy; and the enemy when you’re trying to fight a war becomes the citizens of your country. And when you’re fighting a war, thats a very very terrible metaphor for policing in a democratic society, because when you’re fighting a war it’s no holds barred. And the holds that we didn’t have to have barred anymore were the holds on our constitutional rights, which we would just stomp on. Our fourth amendment right in the United States against illegal search and seizure: we would illegally search people all the time, because we felt like We’re fighting a war, we’re the good guys, and no matter how we get these guys, it’s worthwhile because we’re taking them off the streets and that’s our job.”
Dunedin 2004 – Jack Cole, retired police officer LEAP
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