Rise of the Warrior Cop: the Militarization of America’s Police Forces 

Summary and
Discussion
 
The book, Rise of the Warrior Cop the Militarization of America’s Police Forces, by Radley
Balko examines how police and the criminal justice system have gained major power and
influence in the United States yet they do not have any accountability in regards to exercising
their power unlawfully. In the introduction, Balko makes it clear to the reader that his goal is
not to attack and critique the police force in the United States, but to simply explain the shift
from being a nation of little to no policing force, to one that emphasizes the need for a large
and strong police presence. In his introduction he makes the agreement whether or not having
a large police presence is constitutional or not Balko (2014: ix)
The first chapter highlights that some founding principles of policing actually stem from
ancient Rome, where praetorian cohorts were used as guarding units for Roman generals, and
then later evolved into more conventional police forces that made arrests, investigated crimes,
and provided security during Coliseum games. Prior to establishing this force, most families
and small communities settled personal disputes on their own but under the ruling of
Augustus, dispute resolutions and punishments were now under the executive power of the
emperor. As cities emerged and urban areas became more populated, centralized power was
needed to keep order. In England, shire reeves (later our word for sheriffs) were appointed
representatives to maintain peace and balance among neighbors and later on urban constables
were established to keep order and enforce common laws. In the newly settled American
colonies, British common law was adapted, and most importantly, the Castle Doctrine was a
very important part of this adaptation. The Castle Doctrine upholds the principle that, “a
man’s homes is his castle,” (Balko 2014:6) and therefore the state cannot enter a residence
without first knocking and announcing their presence and purpose in entering. The basis of
this requirement was to give the homeowner adequate time to assess the situation and proceed
without stress or violence (Balko 2014:7). He also emphasizes the importance and
symbolizing behind the Third Amendment, which he alludes to throughout the book. The
author explains that the colonies had similar religious beliefs and values, and they recognized
crime and sin as the same thing. They did not have a need for modern policing because they
believed that crimes against society were punishable by God, therefore trials and punishment
were virtually nonexistent. 
Once cities in the northern regions emerged, night watch patrols were established and
monitored by volunteers who patrolled the area and prevented small infractions from
occurring. Meanwhile, in the south, the main concern there were the possibility of slave
revolts and escaped slaves. As a result, slave patrols were established. Balko explains that the
patrols wore uniforms and were armed, and had the authority to search and detain slaves, and
the power to enter slave corridors on plantations (2014: 28). The western frontier had more
difficulty in patrolling areas due to the vast open landscape, but vigilante groups often
responded to threats and disorder. 
Balko goes on to discuss the first modern police force that originated in London in 1829. Sir
Robert Peel organized the British police force and they wore blue uniforms to distinguish
themselves from the red uniforms worn by the British army. The officers had to abide by a
strict code of rules and they had to be polite and avoid confrontation at all times. (Balko
2014: 30) The New York police department followed suit in establishing a similar force in
the United States is 1845. These officers patrolled areas unarmed and provided services to the
community such as running soup kitchens, and allowing the homeless to take shelter in the
stations. Laws were enforced as necessary but there was no training involved or uniform
procedures that enforced laws and punished criminals. The appointment of police officers
was highly political and based on connections one had with those in office. 
Throughout the book Balko discusses the major influence of political power and the rise of
militarization of the police force in the United States. The early 1900’s saw a shift in the need
for more standardized police presence. Larger cities transitioned voluntary police forces into
more professional teams and made policing a formal profession that required specialized
skills and knowledge (Balko 2014:32). Prohibition in the 1920’s created a need for these new
police forces. The Volstead Act did not prohibit the consumption and possession of alcohol,
so as a result some cities and counties did not enforce the law. Later in the 1930’s when
prohibition was repealed, more police forces adopted professionalism and rigid, hierarchal
structures, such as those introduced in the LAPD by police chief, William Parker (Balko
2014:34). 
            Despite previous ideas of police officers and the community working together, Parker
believed that it was necessary to separate the two. The “us versus them” narrative became
more common and had a standing impact on the militarization of the police force. Balko
describes the forms of police militarization as direct and indirect. He argues that direct
militarization uses the standing military for domestic policing while indirect occurs when
police forces take on characteristics of an army (Balko 2014:34). The 1960’s and onwards
proved to lean towards indirect militarization first beginning with the civil rights movement,
counterculture and antiwar movements.  
             The Ker v. California case brought attention to the Castle Doctrine and no knock
policy. The Castle Doctrine upheld the idea that police officers could not enter a home
without a warrant and the no knock policy required a knock to doors, an announcement by
the police and a pause to allow the homeowner to approach the officers before they could
enter forcefully. The police argued that this allowed wanted individuals to get rid of evidence
and hide suspicious substances. Judges ruled that police officers would have to get warrants
to search a property but these requirements were ignored by most officers during raids. As a
result, there were growing numbers of botched and “wrong-door” raids (Balko 2014:47).
Originating in Los Angeles Special Weapons and Tactic teams or SWAT, were created in
response to riots and places that needed large forces to deal with threats at a moment’s notice.
            The War on Drugs declared by President Nixon increased the militarization of the
police. SWAT teams became increasingly popular across large cities in the United States and
the growing fear of violence portrayed in the media created a need for the mass stockpiling of
military style weapons. The focus of police forces and SWAT teams were to target those
using illicit drugs, low income blacks, the counterculture and the antiwar movement (Balko
2014:71). Countless examples of violent attacks and the inhumane treatment of individuals
caused by police officers are described by Balko. Many instances of the intrusion of the
wrong home or having the wrong suspect resulted in fatalities, and rarely did the drug busts
result in the finding of any actual drugs or arrests made. Police departments lied about how
situations escalated and were able to falsify reports to get around the need for warrants and
the knocking policy. The Reagan Administration called for the passing of the Military
Cooperation with Law Enforcement Act which allowed for more military involvement in
drug enforcement. In areas with less police militarization there were falling rates of crime
however, the government made it a point to continue using excessive force in the fight
against the war on drugs and federal funding to these task forces has increased exponentially
throughout the Obama Administration. Balko concludes that the use of militarized police
forces continues to be present in the United States today. At the end of the book, Balko offers
some ideas on how reformation could demilitarize police. He argues that ending the drug war
altogether would be one solution but recognizes that decriminalization and legalization of all
drugs would be highly unlikely. Next, he explains that the use of SWAT teams to conduct
raids of bars for underage drinkers, doctors for mis-prescribing painkillers and charity halls
conducting poker games is a huge overkill and misuse of power. SWAT teams should not be
used for conducting nonviolent raids. The author communicates the need for greater
transparency of funding, legislation, and evidence as well as the need for greater
accountability for police forces. And finally, he explores the need for changing police culture
altogether and suggests the return to a more community-based style of policing. 
            Overall, the book, Rise of the Warrior Cop the Militarization of America’s Police
Forces, by Radley Balko gave a very informative overview of the historically relevant
militarization of the police force in the United States. Although the book was very dense, it
provides the reader with a greater understanding of the extent of the violence perpetuated by
excessive force of police personnel throughout the War on Drugs. Personally, I found the
graphic details of forced, midnight raids to be terrifying and the stories of countless
individuals being pinned to the ground with their children with guns to their heads, only to
find out that the police had the wrong house, to be heartbreaking. Balko shows that politics
and police go hand in hand and that indirect militarization does not necessarily mean provide
more success in fighting crime. 
            The book is relevant to other class materials such as Policing the Black Man by
Angela J. Davis as well as Hadden’s Slave Patrols, and Policing the Black Man by Hattery
and Smith because all of these books speak to the need to control individuals through police
force. Although Balko does not explicitly discuss black individuals being targeted, there are
examples included in the book that refer to racially motivated drug raids. Additionally, it does
raise questions about stop and frisk policies and if they are constitutional or not. 
            Although not extremely relevant to all topics covered by Balko in this book, I found
some interesting current events articles about the use of SWAT teams in relation to the
growing need for COVID19 assistance. I think this is relevant to discuss because Balko
stresses the unnecessary involvement of SWAT teams in non-violence-based situations. The
state of New York has assembled SWAT teams to assist with different technological tasks in
response to the coronavirus. I thought this was interesting because I wondered if Balko would
see their involvement as an unnecessary use militarized power in this type of situation. 
 
Discussion Questions – 
1. Do you think Balko’s suggestions of police reform would be beneficial in the United
States? Would the return to a community policing style (one in which police officers are
more involved on the community streets rather than an “us versus them” narrative)
reduce crime as seen in some police department examples in the book? 
2. How have the numerous botched raid examples in the book changed your opinion of
the militarization of police? Should we continue to rely on SWAT teams to the extent
Balko describes or should federal funding be used more for other enhancements to
police forces? 
 
            
References 
Balko, Radley. 2014. Rise of the Warrior Cop: the Militarization of Americas Police
Forces. New York: PublicAffairs.
 
Davis, Angela J. 2018. Policing the Black Man: Arrest, Prosecution, and Imprisonment. New
York: Vintage Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
 
Gcn. 2020. “NY Assembling COVID-19 Tech SWAT Teams.” GCN. Retrieved April 11,
2020 (https://gcn.com/articles/2020/04/07/ny-tech-swat-team-covid.aspx).
 
Hadden, Sally E. 2003. Slave Patrols: Law and Violence in Virginia and the Carolinas.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
 
Hattery, Angela and Earl Smith. 2017. Policing Black Bodies How Black Lives Are
Surveilled and How to Work for Change. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

Brittany Rodriguez 
RE: Rise of the Warrior Cop Summary and Discussion
C OL LA PS E
Hi Nicole,
Thanks for sharing this overview of Balko’s (2014) Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of
Americas Police Forces. I appreciate Balko’s historical analysis of the formation of our current systems of
police enforcement and SWAT. I agree with you this reading was dense, but found it helpful in better
understanding present systems of law enforcement. I appreciate Balko’s suggestions for police reform, but share
a sense of uncertainty as to whether it is realistic to expect a divergence from militarization; I anticipate the
militarization of enforcement to grow. However, I do agree with the author’s assertion that a community
policing style may remedy the “us vs. them” divide between the public and police forces, which would
ultimately benefit the whole of the community. More importantly, this will lead to fewer failed raids and,
hopefully, improve community safety and trust. Though I revered the militarization of police unfavorably prior
to this reading, Balko concretized the notion that it is a grave misuse of power and, arguably, invokes more
harm on communities than good, particularly as it concerns Black and Latinx communities.