What has the global war on terror wrought? A militarized justice system that has crept into every aspect of life in the U.S. Particularly affected are America’s school children? 80,000 school-based robocops, armed and carrying chemical sprays and tasers, have transformed our schools into military encampments. Their presence is a fact of life for two-thirds of high school students, 45% of middle schoolers, and 19% of elementary school children. It gets worse. Although only 6% of Americans are veterans, 20% of school cops have a military background. Evidence suggests that ex-military police react more combatively to even the most minor infractions. Veteran or not, the majority of school cops receive little or no training in the delicate business of de-escalating tense school situations. More often than not, the response is the taser, pepper spray, a well-aimed punch or kick, then off to the local lock-up in handcuffs. For those targeted, arrest and conviction is a life-changing event. If you want to know how bad school policing is, how excessive force, racial bias and reinforcement of the school-to-prison pipeline is the result, read “Handcuffed, Tasered, Pepper Sprayed, Kicked, Choked and Beaten — Students Brutalized by Bullies Masquerading as Cops.”
