Source: EconLog
by Tarnell Brown
“In 1878, Congress passed Title 18 U.S.C. §1385, commonly known as the Posse Comitatus Act, to address the question of using the military for the purposes of civilian law enforcement. Previous uses of the military, such as to quell rioters during the Whiskey Rebellion (1791-1794), ended in disaster, prompting legislators to ban the use of military personnel to enforce domestic law, except in defined circumstances. The underlying issue with using the military for such purposes lies in its function; because soldiers are trained to neutralize or eliminate the problem, matters of due process or civil liberties are not their paramount concern (Marsh, 1991). In enforcing domestic law, civilian police departments ostensibly must safeguard civil liberties while enforcing the law. However, these lines have become increasingly blurred in the prosecution of the War on Drugs[TM].” (05/02/24)
https://www.econlib.org/blurring-posse-comitatus-the-increased-militarization-of-police/