Tell the Charleston PD, Sheriffs Office, and Mayor that we are NOT okay with the militarization of our city.

The Charleston Police Department released a statement Tuesday, July 21st, reading:

"The Charleston Police Department is teaming up with the Charleston County Sheriffs Office and SLED for an ongoing effort to reduce crime and the fear of crime throughout the community.

Beginning Thursday, July 23rd, 2020, there will be an increased presence of deputies and state agents in the Charleston area with a focus on crime reduction on the peninsula. As part of this effort, CPD has assigned a second commander to the night shift, activated the SWAT team for proactive interdiction patrol and combined several special units within the department to form supplemental patrol squads that will assist the patrol division throughout the community. This includes officers assigned to the Community Oriented Policing Unit, Traffic Unit, Narcotics and Vice. 

Citizens should expect to see outdoor roll calls being held throughout the city, an increased presence of police equipment deployed for community awareness, pop up CPD events and traffic checkpoints."

The Charleston Peninsula is a peaceful area and if they are truly concerned about lessening the amount of fear in the community, they must know that the increased police presence is going to do nothing but worry our citizens. Nobody is more frightening than the people who can murder you and get away with it roaming the streets, carrying out demonstrations of force, and watching your every move. This is an extremely draconian effort to instill fear in the hearts of our citizens as a means of control. At a time in which the disregard for human and civil rights in places like Portland is at its highest point this is an extremely slippery slope. The residents of the City of Charleston DO NOT want this. We know how much police abuse their power, why would we want more of them with less restrictions on their actions?

With heavily armed SWAT teams roaming the peninsula LOOKING for crime and given the permission to proactively intervene there is no doubt that this increase in police presence will cause more problems than it solves. Hopefully it wont cost any lives.

POLICE PRESENCE DOES NOT STOP CRIME. FUNDING THE COMMUNITY DOES. CREATING A SOCIETY IN WHICH EVERYONE'S NEEDS ARE MET DOES. 

Do you see an insane amount of police in the suburbs where crime is very low? 

JOIN US IN CONDEMNING THIS INSANE POLICY AND STANDING AGAINST THE MILITARIZATION OF OUR CITY.