Numerous police officers were patrolling the platforms at the Princeton Junction train station this morning.  Signs near the platform entrances alerted passengers that their bags would be subject to search.  Three NJ Transit Police Department “Special Operations” SUVs were parked around the station, one of them attached to a large trailer.  At least one SUV also had “Justice Team” written on the side, apparently to make passengers believe that superheros protect them.  In addition, a very large “Special Operations” truck and two unmarked police cars were parked near the station.

I have not found any news of any particular threat today, so it is unclear what the officers are looking for.  If I was a real journalist I would have asked them, but I am not (maybe I need to make myself a darianworden.com press pass to feel official).

In related news, police in Mount Vernon, New York, have set up checkpoints to search cars for illegally-possessed guns and other unharmful activity.  Clearly they will do whatever they can get away with to protect their monopoly on the use of force.  The Journal News wants you to think that the residents of Mount Vernon approve of this “bold initiative.”

Also related is the fact that police agencies around the country are adding military rifles to their patrol equipment, and other military equipment is on the way (See radgeek for some examples).  And let’s not forget tomorrow’s deployment of an active Army unit within the United States “for the same mission – with a twist” as patrolling Iraq “in full battle rattle.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 at 8:26 am and is filed under current event. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.