Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces
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- Create Date：2021-06-02 20:31:12
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Radley Balko
- ISBN：1541774531
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Reviews
Elena Correa
，
Sometimes a little dull and dense but mostly outrage-inducing。 I learned a lot。
J。R。 White
，
A factual accounting from the times of Rome through middle England to 2013 America。 Exacting in the unique and unprecedented problems facing citizens。Discouraging， dense。 Light on summary。 Highly studied。Discusses collateral damage extensively。 Introduces a variety of useful terminology， such as no-knock raid， wrong-door raid。Occasionally speaks ill of conservatives throughout the ages， for no apparent reason。I would recommend this book to anyone resilient enough to face the problems of our time A factual accounting from the times of Rome through middle England to 2013 America。 Exacting in the unique and unprecedented problems facing citizens。Discouraging， dense。 Light on summary。 Highly studied。Discusses collateral damage extensively。 Introduces a variety of useful terminology， such as no-knock raid， wrong-door raid。Occasionally speaks ill of conservatives throughout the ages， for no apparent reason。I would recommend this book to anyone resilient enough to face the problems of our time without a clear solution between the lines。 。。。more
Daniel Carter
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Really well researched and informative！
Michael and Kaia （but mostly Michael）
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4。6-America’s obsession with policing and strengthening itself through force is gross。 It’s the direct result of years of policy to demonize drug use & target urban communities。
Jennvw
，
Took me a couple of years to hunker down and finish this one。 It's a good history and overview， but a lot of the information can be found in other books and resources around policing。 Where this fell very short for me was around offering any type of recommendations of what can do done， at the time this was written there was a lot of grassroots work being done around militarization and there wasn't any mention of that or other effects to change this system。 If you want a bunch of info but no dire Took me a couple of years to hunker down and finish this one。 It's a good history and overview， but a lot of the information can be found in other books and resources around policing。 Where this fell very short for me was around offering any type of recommendations of what can do done， at the time this was written there was a lot of grassroots work being done around militarization and there wasn't any mention of that or other effects to change this system。 If you want a bunch of info but no direction for how to use that info to change policing then this is probably a good book for you。 。。。more
Harper Miller
，
Whew， this book is ENRAGING。 😤🤯🤬I had to take breaks because I found myself getting flustered and extremely angry。 If you've been paying attention to the news and social media the past couple of years， you might've noticed the United States has a serious policing problem。 It's not new。 It didn't spring up overnight。 It's been an issue since the inception of the police on American soil。 Law enforcement officers often take egregious actions against citizens without repercussions。 Accountability wh Whew， this book is ENRAGING。 😤🤯🤬I had to take breaks because I found myself getting flustered and extremely angry。 If you've been paying attention to the news and social media the past couple of years， you might've noticed the United States has a serious policing problem。 It's not new。 It didn't spring up overnight。 It's been an issue since the inception of the police on American soil。 Law enforcement officers often take egregious actions against citizens without repercussions。 Accountability who？ What？ The conviction of Derek Chauvin may have given us hope but even that was short-lived。In many ways， officers are enabled not only by officials within their chain of command but the “look the other way mentality” extends even further up the chain to Congress， the Senate， the Supreme Court， and the President。 It's not something that can be blamed entirely on one administration。 Democrats and Republicans have taken the L as both parties have had a hand in problematic policing。 Balko touches on this。 I’m as liberal as they get but Clinton， Obama， Biden， Schumer all had a hand in where we are today。IMO defunding is the way to go moving forward and anyone skeptical about what that means it why it should happen NEEDS to pick up this book。 It’s a blueprint on why it needs to happen。 While written in 2013， the foreshadowing is eerie。 Balko's research is extensive and detailed and wow。。。 just wow。 Rise of the Warrior Cop is one hell of a read。 。。。more
Maxwell
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A well written account of a serious problem in American society: the militarization of America’s police forces and the malignant effect it has had on the culture within departments。 Regardless of one’s political beliefs， I feel that this book makes a case for serious， focused， and immediate reform any American who values freedom and privacy would support。
Sim
，
Guy describes why giving big guns to cops is bad。 Wanted to like this more but it was just a bunch of confirmation bias: policing in this country is problematic and there’s no true oversight。 Siiiggghhh。。。
Karky
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Required reading。 Where we’re at and how we got here。 Very enlightening to learn to the extent that we’re over policed， not just with evolved tactics， but also the data。 I was wondering how police and their supporters received this book， and a quick search turned up positive results。
Jc
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This amazing piece of investigative journalism should be on every serious reading list。 This is NOT an anti-police screed; it is a carefully and diligently researched report on the history and current state of the American police system。 Much of the issues that have been debated in the public forum in the last few years are laid out and detailed in this book which was completed back in 2013。 The history is fascinating， the fallout frightening。 This is a sobering and shocking must read， no matter This amazing piece of investigative journalism should be on every serious reading list。 This is NOT an anti-police screed; it is a carefully and diligently researched report on the history and current state of the American police system。 Much of the issues that have been debated in the public forum in the last few years are laid out and detailed in this book which was completed back in 2013。 The history is fascinating， the fallout frightening。 This is a sobering and shocking must read， no matter what your politics。 。。。more
Akiva Weisinger
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Extremely depressing， but extremely important
Clarissa Bundy
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Have police forces over the past 60 years been consistent with upholding the principles of a free society？ Even before my having read this book I think it’s safe to say absolutely fucking not。 The level at which US citizens rights have been trampled for more than five decades will never cease to enrage me to the very core of my being。 Nothing will change unless politics change， and politics won’t change until we hold politicians accountable for allowing what was supposed to be a civic service de Have police forces over the past 60 years been consistent with upholding the principles of a free society？ Even before my having read this book I think it’s safe to say absolutely fucking not。 The level at which US citizens rights have been trampled for more than five decades will never cease to enrage me to the very core of my being。 Nothing will change unless politics change， and politics won’t change until we hold politicians accountable for allowing what was supposed to be a civic service devolve into a paramilitary nightmare of proportions that nobody， and I mean nobody， can grasp the exact scope of this constant malfeasance。 。。。more
Ellen
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Should be required reading。 At times the stories of SWAT raids， wrong door raids， etc， start to blend together， but I suspect that’s the point—to make clear just how many examples there are of why we shouldn’t have a militarized police force acting with so few limitations or repercussions。 And though his look at police recruitment tactics is brief， it’s one of more horrifying aspects of the book—because how do you reform a force that’s being run by people who were attracted to the force in the f Should be required reading。 At times the stories of SWAT raids， wrong door raids， etc， start to blend together， but I suspect that’s the point—to make clear just how many examples there are of why we shouldn’t have a militarized police force acting with so few limitations or repercussions。 And though his look at police recruitment tactics is brief， it’s one of more horrifying aspects of the book—because how do you reform a force that’s being run by people who were attracted to the force in the first place by the chance to conduct military-style raids on the people they’re supposed to serve？ 。。。more
Jordan Conger
，
Completely unsurprised that police militarization， like most right wing policy that continues to destroy communities today， was born under Nixon， exacerbated by Reagan， and further strengthened to the point of normalization by “good Democrats” like Biden， Clinton， and Obama。 And it’s only become worse in the last 8 years since publication。
Isaac Pritchett
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About the 3rd amendment and distressing rise of SWAT teams and no-knock raids。 Good read。
Glenn
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Incredibly researched and sobering book on the history and rise of SWAT tactics and militarization of American police。 This is not a simple "anti-cop" book， it digs into police militarization from political， judicial， cultural angles。 It taught me so much about how policy has been unlocking this transformation for the last century， not just the last 20 years。 And it's so full of forgotten news stories， supreme court cases， and interviews that it's impossible not too walk away feeling 10x more in Incredibly researched and sobering book on the history and rise of SWAT tactics and militarization of American police。 This is not a simple "anti-cop" book， it digs into police militarization from political， judicial， cultural angles。 It taught me so much about how policy has been unlocking this transformation for the last century， not just the last 20 years。 And it's so full of forgotten news stories， supreme court cases， and interviews that it's impossible not too walk away feeling 10x more informed on a subject I already cared deeply about before reading。 。。。more
Ryan
，
This book primarily focuses （and argues against） a few key topics:- Creation and rise of SWAT teams in American Policing- The No-knock raid - The Drug WarBriefly touches on - Lack of accountability for police officers， transparency for general public- How language around policing forms action- How often police just shoot family pets: https://puppycidedb。com/This book does not cover- Causes for the violent crime wave concomitant with increasing police militarization- Strategies used international This book primarily focuses （and argues against） a few key topics:- Creation and rise of SWAT teams in American Policing- The No-knock raid - The Drug WarBriefly touches on - Lack of accountability for police officers， transparency for general public- How language around policing forms action- How often police just shoot family pets: https://puppycidedb。com/This book does not cover- Causes for the violent crime wave concomitant with increasing police militarization- Strategies used internationally （is this a global phenomenon）Guest AppearancesJoe Biden plays a starring role in this storyRichard Nixon may have been a bad presidentSteven Seagal driving a swat tank through someone's house: https://youtu。be/NqA3UoMH4yY？t=95I would highly recommend to anyone in the US （Along w/ the New Jim Crow for the litigation side of things）。As a bonus， make sure to check out your local precincts recruiting video afterward。 They give you a good idea what kind of police your community is trying to recruit: https://youtu。be/KveN2oCTYqY？t=114 。。。more
Michael Stachowitz
，
Rise of the Warrior Cop is a tragic look at the erosion of Fourth Amendment and Castle Doctrine-based civil liberties in the United States， specifically in light of the gradual militarization of our country’s police agencies。 What was once nearly sacrosanct has for several decades now been systematically dismantled by presidents and lawmakers in both parties playing toxic games of one-upsmanship and villainization， obviously looking to score political points; by the courts evidently okay with st Rise of the Warrior Cop is a tragic look at the erosion of Fourth Amendment and Castle Doctrine-based civil liberties in the United States， specifically in light of the gradual militarization of our country’s police agencies。 What was once nearly sacrosanct has for several decades now been systematically dismantled by presidents and lawmakers in both parties playing toxic games of one-upsmanship and villainization， obviously looking to score political points; by the courts evidently okay with state expansion cloaked in anti-crime rulings （they know what they are doing）; and by a populace increasingly unprincipled and adrift， increasingly frightened by crime （even as all sociologists and criminologists will point to its downward trend since the early ‘90s）， and tacitly supportive of authoritarianism as long as it is being used against partisan enemies at a given time （for instance: some liberals are now favoring increased Capitol Police funding， new domestic terrorism laws that will inevitably also be used against the broader left， etc。）。 How did one of the freest countries arrive at this point？ Why and how have we allowed police the latitude to invade private residences with barely the slightest evidence？ Why and how have we allowed police to dress up and play “soldier” against their own fellow citizens engaged in Constitutionally-protected protests？ Balko answers most of my questions in this focused—and perhaps more relevant than ever—history of police militarization in the U。S。Before diving into this vast contemporary problem， the author spends a few chapters fleshing out the historical and philosophical underpinnings of the issue。 If one simply wants to learn about modern policing， the first few chapters can be skipped; however， anyone wanting more ammo for their arguments with authoritarians would be remiss in skipping these chapters that swiftly cover Roman police， English common law and the Castle Doctrine， the origins of U。S。 policing in slave patrols， and the eventual professionalization of U。S。 police agencies。Cutting to the chase， the phenomenon of indirect militarization （i。e。 arming police heavily rather than deploying actual military units for law enforcement） has its roots in the 1960s， and this is where Balko’s writing and extensive research really start to get absorbing。 The author highlights milestones such as Rockefeller’s no-knock raid legislation in New York and the LAPD’s creation of the first SWAT team after the deadly Watts riots of 1965， which may not have been widely relevant at the time but would prove to be enormously consequential in the years to come。 In my view， the spark that lit the fire of police militarization was Richard Nixon’s efforts to kick off the war on drugs。 Nixon was privately open about his cynical political intentions with this war on drugs， but it undoubtedly worked as it caught the public’s attention—and， critically， its support。 He knew that drugs would be the lowest common denominator to at once undermine and villainize low-income black people， the counterculture movement （e。g。 pot-smoking hippies）， and antiwar activists。 Rather than addressing the root causes of drug use like someone who really cares about the issue， Nixon of course wanted to criminalize it and boost his popularity with impressive arrest statistics。 As Balko’s history moves into the 1970s we see an increase in federal narcotics task forces yet still some hesitation in Congress regarding the spread of no-knock tactics。Things really start to get ugly in Balko’s account of the Reagan years， which were characterized by asset seizures as a funding mechanism （a deeply troubling self-perpetuating cycle of abuse） and an absurd crackdown on marijuana users and dealers。 Also noteworthy here is the increased federal funding Reagan gave to police agencies and the fact that Congress enacted new measures to put the Department of Defense in touch with the U。S。 Attorney General in order to notify and provide military surplus to law enforcement agencies across the country。 As the book progresses， the author scatters numerous well-researched accounts of drug raids， many of them either at incorrect addresses or seizing very minimal amounts of drugs （and hardly ever any weapons—you will learn that policing is not nearly as dangerous as police claim and that most of the danger they do encounter is because of their own unbelievably poor tactics and incompetence）。 I was resistant to this narrative style at first， wanting to focus on Congressional crime bills， policing statistics， and pertinent case law， but these anecdotes earn their place in the text by illustrating just how harmful and terrorizing the policing tactics in this country have become。 The stories remind the reader that at the end of all of these gargantuan policy decisions and political ploys are people。Chapters 7 and 8， which cover the 1990s and 2000s respectively， are key chapters insofar as they illustrate the bipartisan nature of the futile and unjust war on drugs and show the biggest proliferation of SWAT teams （and their misuse） and militarization yet。 Younger readers may be surprised by the open harshness of the Clinton administration （and later， Obama） and Congressional Democrats such as Joe Biden， but the party’s stance on crime hasn’t really improved at all and has merely been dressed up in a cloak of identity politics and superficial racial inclusivity， devoid of the substantive changes that reflect true justice。 The Clinton years brought such pervasive warrant-signing neglect that it was basically a no-look rubber stamp process。 Balko also highlights troubling policies such as the one strike rule for any drug offense by someone in public housing as well as a formalized tech sharing agreement between the Department of Defense and Department of Justice。 The author also explains that SWAT proliferation has reached almost every agency in cities of over 50，000 residents and how it is increasingly used for drug warrants （by nonviolent offenders engaging in consensual and harmless “criminal” activities） rather than the hostage-taking， bank-robbing， shoot-em-up crimes police agencies use as justification for their militarization。 Whole books can and have been written on post-9/11 police militarization in conjunction with the new， flush-with-cash Department of Homeland Security （the false justifications here being pretty intuitive and obvious to everyone with critical thinking skills）， but it was a worthwhile inclusion by the author since the reader can fully see how we have arrived at this moment of police wearing camo in the streets， armed to the teeth with flash bangs， M16s， grenade launchers， personnel carriers， etc。All things considered， this is a great book for what it is—a history of police militarization in the U。S。 There is plenty it either does not cover or only tangentially references such as the racial disparities in outcomes of this policing system; the activist networks opposing the proliferation of militarization; the public opinion trends surrounding these issues， the role of police being fooled into protecting elite interests; the nearly complete lack of civilian oversight and accountability; or the entrenched， poisonous， and almost irreversible culture of insularity festering in police agencies across the country。 Then again—and as with any social issue—police militarization is a very complex topic。 That Balko synthesizes as much as he does in this exploration is an impressive feat and a testament to his years of researching case law， policing statistics， and media reports of police abuses。 I felt I had a strong understanding of the topic before reading this book， but as I set it down there is certainly more depth to my understanding， however deeply troubling the issues at hand may be。 。。。more
Therese
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Listening to this is so depressing。 The history of the militarization of the police is well done。 See the militarization unfold and be scared。The author does give solutions to some of the deep-rooted problems。 Whether or not the police can be demilitarized is another problem。 I certainly hope so， Until it does， unrest will rears it head as people rightly demand a more fair system。
Noemi Lynch
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It was good， had a lot of great examples and research into court cases and the slow changing of laws。 The end chapter on reforms that would help had some really great ideas。 I feel it might have a bit of tunnel vision in how the militarization started， focusing only on SWAT and the modern "War on Drugs"。 Another review pointed out that it didn't talk about things like Prohibition arms races。 It was good， had a lot of great examples and research into court cases and the slow changing of laws。 The end chapter on reforms that would help had some really great ideas。 I feel it might have a bit of tunnel vision in how the militarization started， focusing only on SWAT and the modern "War on Drugs"。 Another review pointed out that it didn't talk about things like Prohibition arms races。 。。。more
Mike
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It’s an eye opener that’s for sure。
Doris Voina
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I've had this book on my reading list since about June 2020， when many of the BLM protests happened。 I was trying to square my naive ideas about police uplifting communities and the necessity of enforcing law especially in high-crime neighborhoods， and things I was hearing from my friends and my peers about violent policing that was affecting communities of color disproportionately。First， this is a pretty detailed account of policing in the USA from late 50s to the Obama-era， when this book was I've had this book on my reading list since about June 2020， when many of the BLM protests happened。 I was trying to square my naive ideas about police uplifting communities and the necessity of enforcing law especially in high-crime neighborhoods， and things I was hearing from my friends and my peers about violent policing that was affecting communities of color disproportionately。First， this is a pretty detailed account of policing in the USA from late 50s to the Obama-era， when this book was published。 It's 350+ pages of police history， peppered with a lot of anecdotes and detailing policy decisions spanning many administrations， focusing on the ones that were most detrimental to police militarization — which is pretty much every administration of the past 30 years。 This all builds up to support the main thesis that lawmakers have used the War on Drugs （and post 9/11， the War on Terror） to ramp up police militarization in small and large communities across the US， with little regard as to whether these tactics were in fact making communities safer and thriving， and actually violating the Constitution's 4th Amendment along the way。The book is decently data-driven without being too tedious to read， so at the end of each chapter you'll find useful statistics that reinforce the author's point。 I enjoyed that most because I felt my own opinions on the matter needed to be grounded in data and less so on my subjective experiences living in mostly safe neighborhoods （and being white！）。 Some interesting points the book is making that I did not know a whole lot about: police are allowed to confiscate assets from raids and keep the confiscated goods， which gives them an additional incentive to do as many raids as possible; even small towns in the middle of nowhere have SWAT teams， a lot of which started as part of a large trend in police departments to put together professional teams that aggressively enforce drug laws in every corner of America; most SWAT teams are used for routine drug raids， regardless of the reason these teams were put together in the first place （like for e。g。 to combat mass shootings in schools）。A less surprising fact is that the main metric used to grant funds to the police are number of arrests， warrants served， and number of drug seizures。 That means police don't actually have much incentive to reduce crime in an area， as the author points out。 The gradual build-up in encouraging police brutality and stripping ordinary citizens of their rights （hey， no-knock warrants didn't use to be a thing） is appalling， but also ultimately not very shocking。 Finally， the book is bipartisan in its criticism on the issue， as both Democrats and Republicans have engaged in stoking fear throughout the last decades to get votes from constituents who were convinced that the only way forward was a reflexive impulse to get more gear， more military training， more equipment， as opposed to， say， encouraging cops to engage non-violently with the community and trying to solve the underlying issues that were leading to high crime in the first place。 I picked up this book because I wanted to sink my teeth in more data and read about police history in the US， so that I can better understand what led to present-day BLM protests， and such distrust towards the police from the general population as we see today。 This book delivered and rewarded my patience as I got through some if its more technical parts。 。。。more
Joanna Fantozzi
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As expected， I was horrified by what was inside this book and I learned a lot about the history of police in this country。 But rather than a （frankly， repetitive） list of increasingly disturbing no-knock raids， I wish this book was more analytical， and focused on the proliferation of cop unions， which were not mentioned much until the last chapter and racism which was not mentioned AT ALL。 I could not believe that in a book about police brutality that the pattern of slaughtering Black people was As expected， I was horrified by what was inside this book and I learned a lot about the history of police in this country。 But rather than a （frankly， repetitive） list of increasingly disturbing no-knock raids， I wish this book was more analytical， and focused on the proliferation of cop unions， which were not mentioned much until the last chapter and racism which was not mentioned AT ALL。 I could not believe that in a book about police brutality that the pattern of slaughtering Black people was not mentioned。 This book is half a decade old so perhaps it should be updated。 。。。more
Jessica
，
It would be interesting to see an afterword in this book looking at the recent rise in police brutality。 This book was published in 2013 so the most recent example protests were the occupy movement。 I’d like to see the authors take on police reactions to BLM and Defund the Police movements。One of the most startling parts of the book is how unmoved the police are by public criticism。 This behaviour has basically been happening since the early 90s and despite exposes and public hearings and report It would be interesting to see an afterword in this book looking at the recent rise in police brutality。 This book was published in 2013 so the most recent example protests were the occupy movement。 I’d like to see the authors take on police reactions to BLM and Defund the Police movements。One of the most startling parts of the book is how unmoved the police are by public criticism。 This behaviour has basically been happening since the early 90s and despite exposes and public hearings and reports there hasn’t been any change in culture or any efforts to moderate the behaviour。 。。。more
Benjamin Walker
，
Meticulously researched， riveting， and enraging。 Fair to both left and right （in American terms）， and brutal about their failure to protect our rights as citizens of an ostensibly free society。 Has only gotten more relevant since it was written。
Joseph
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The Fourth Amendment does not exist in a vacuum。 It exists to protect people， not itself。 When the stories about the people it protects are elided （i。e。， mentioning a story about P。G。 County without mentioning race）， the arguments Balko presents are both weakened and less true。 You cannot ignore race when it comes to policing。 Balko tried his best， however， and the results are as limiting as you might expect。 A book from a true ideologue。
Katie
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DNF。 I can't do it。 At some points， he gets too lazy to finish a chapter and ends it with five， ten or a few extra bullet points that are just fragments and don't really explain anything。 It's like they were a rough draft for the rest of a chapter he didn't feel like finishing。 If I had written this as an essay in high school， I would've gotten a C。 DNF。 I can't do it。 At some points， he gets too lazy to finish a chapter and ends it with five， ten or a few extra bullet points that are just fragments and don't really explain anything。 It's like they were a rough draft for the rest of a chapter he didn't feel like finishing。 If I had written this as an essay in high school， I would've gotten a C。 。。。more
Kavinay
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The unholy triangle: racism/drug war / \ / \ / \ / \ ----------Asset forfeiture Erosion of castle doctrine （no knocks） The point Balko makes， repeatedly， is that SWAT teams and military techniques are rarely used for movie-like bank robbery gunfights。 Rather， these tools are mostly leveraged to execute search warrants against threats created by political ideology The unholy triangle: racism/drug war / \ / \ / \ / \ ----------Asset forfeiture Erosion of castle doctrine （no knocks） The point Balko makes， repeatedly， is that SWAT teams and military techniques are rarely used for movie-like bank robbery gunfights。 Rather， these tools are mostly leveraged to execute search warrants against threats created by political ideology rather than a clear danger to the public。 The same warrants were executed without violence prior to Gates propelling SWAT into public and elected officials' acceptance in the 60's。 Police with military hardware are a political expression of power rather than a broad solution to public safety。 。。。more
Alexander Lawson
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Long history of the evolution of the Warrior Cop and its policy and social drives。 I was not aware of the historical details。 It is disturbing， yet difficult to see how to change。 Worth reading to be able to make an informed judgement on this alarming issue。
Geoffrey
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