Life under siege

At what point would the NE or MIT police need to switch from a handgun to something with more firepower?

Even in a Virginia Tech or Sandy Hook situation, responding in kind is only going to further put bystanders at risk.

The Federal government has for years been giving surplus military equipment to police departments of all types. In general, cops love that stuff, so you'll see suburban police departments rolling out armored assault vehicles, and cops equipped with for-real, no-doubt weapons of war. There's a clause in the weapons grant that says if the recipients let a year go by without deploying the equipment, they're supposed to give it back, so they have an incentive to trot it out whenever the mood strikes.

Obama put some restrictions on what types of equipment could be transferred, so of course Trump reversed that.

Rifles are safer for all involved in a situation vs pistols, when a firearm is needed. Much, much easier to hit shots with. More effective at stopping the threat. Much less likely for bystanders to be struck because of their inherent accuracy.

In the vast majority of police interactions they are just more shit to carry around. I could see 1/10-1/5 of squad cars having a patrol rifle.

North Hollywood shootout where two armed bank robbers with AK-47s and body armor could simply walk freely through the streets shooting because the firearms the LAPD had could not penetrate the body armor.

Go to Columbine where the shooters also had body armor, and it adds to the need of more firepower for police who are responding to these calls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_1IvZFwj0M

Maybe for an active shooter type situation in a train station or on a campus? Would you prefer the police be outgunned by some criminal with more firepower, rendering the police defenseless and unable to protect themselves or the public? Perhaps you would. Point of information; 89 police officers were killed in the line of duty last year.

Ya, last week it was a train wreck. As AG so eloquently put it 'White people run amok downtown, battle police, loot stores' https://www.universalhub.com/2020/white-people-run-amok-downtown-battle-... in a thread that has been, well, interesting.
He was trying to make a point of course, maybe it was 'Orange man bad', maybe it was, 'Look, Nazi looting', whatever it was, it was somewhat roundly denounced as being a bit over the top.
It was, of course, the desperate liberal mind thinks that way.

Truth of the matter is, well, once again, blacks get screwed. Totally co-opted out of a legitimate cry for justice, having it turned into just another 'orange man bad' moment.

So I guess all the real progress made by the real reforms to the justice system, as testified to by Kanye West, well, I guess it means nothing.

Joe Biden, originator of the laws that caused so much heartache, for President.

People see.

It is not the US military, it is the Massachusetts military.

Has it been necessary? No. Boston has been a shining example of protesting and places like Brockton (one and done IMO) do not have the critical mass to require massive support beyond current police capacity.

Are there dangerous people roaming Newbury St. right now? We, the people of Boston, are far more at risk of personal harm due to this squad well armed imports than they are walking around on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Who is going to attack these goons?

Serious question - do you think it was all well and good when armed men made a show of occupying the Michigan State House a few weeks back?

Buddy, this is Massachusetts- the birthplace of the American revolution. We've never been a fan of occupying forces - maybe go somewhere else if you're really eager to kneel to a man with a gun.

Why would I thank a "diverse" group of Guardsmen until I know how many of them are sporting white power tats? Add to that, you seem to be a member of a political party that is nowhere as diverse as these troops you're drooling over. Start there, homeboy.

You are the most negative poster on this site. You seem to hate everything about Boston. You constantly talk shit about this site and this city. So, yeah, no thanks hypocrite.

Can people try for one day not to find something to criticize or fear?

Maybe, if you set us an example! I know that would be a major change to your usual commenting style, but gosh! You could be seen as the trend-setting avatar you've always known you were!

someone forgot about the second amendment. i wonder why

Thank you for what? Loitering on Newbury Street? Wasting taxpayer money? How do those boots taste?

Please, your Back Bayness, let those of us who live a few blocks west of America's Most Highly Defended TJ MAXX know exactly where these daily multiple shootings are happening. Because those of us who live here have no evidence of such occurrences, so we need your guidance and omnipotence to provide a rationale to turn on our neighbors. I await your counsel, good sir.

why aren't they where the shootings are apparently happening rather than patrolling an empty street?

(oh right, because that's where all the rich property is, which is all that apparently needs to be defended)

Gaslighting. Very weak point

The Tsarnayevs were not following the precepts of any religion; they were just mass-murdering assholes.

There is no war going on in Boston.

Now that the saboteurs have gone. We can continue. If we need.