Beware the police-industrial complex too

Echoing the words of former President Eisenhower I wonder why the NYC based Police Foundation is so generous in funding new technology solutions as detailed here in this City Journal article. The piece references a mobile scanner set up so that the cops can run people through it like cattle in feedlot (or passengers at an airport) to scan them for guns and knives and other weapons so they won't have to do so much hands-on stop & frisk patrol activity but which tend to annoy the citizens. Being the cynical sort that I am I have to wonder if the directors of the Police Foundation have a financial interest in these technologies and hope to get some positive buzz for them via the NYPD and other first adopter PD's and who will then lobby Washington to make DoJ, DHS, etc. grants available to other PDs to buy it as well?

NYPD has its own anti-aircraft defense capabilty says CBS's 60 Minutes

With the UN being located in Manhattan and hosting 137 blood thirsty tyrants world leaders and their entourages this week the NYPD is making sure it has the capability to defend against any and all possible terrorist incident scenarios. Along with the typical stuff like roof-top sniper teams, street closures and roving patrols of heavily armed (by police standards) LEOs doing street closures, roadblocks and pedestrian checkpoints NYPD Commissar Raymond J. Kelly hints at the NYPD having anti-aircraft capability too, if need be.

When asked by 60 Minutes' host Scott Pelley NYPD's Kelly let this cat out of the bag.

"Pelley: Do you mean to say that the NYPD has the means to take down an aircraft?

Kelly: Yes, I prefer not to get into the details but obviously this would be in a very extreme situation.

Pelley: You have the equipment and the training.

Kelly: Yes."

NYC is now a de facto state in both theory and practice if what Kelly said is in fact true and NYC is all but officially sovereign. Maybe NYC should ask for UN recognized statehood and a seat in the UN? Some say that Kelly is full of shit though.

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