http://www.thedaily.com/page/2011/11/19/111911-news-tampa-tank/

When American police departments use tanks on unarmed peaceful American protesters, they cross the line.

This isn't a police action, this is a declaration of war. The distinction between an army, and police, is in their choice of weaponry. When police resort to M-16's, tanks, chemical weapons, grenade launchers, night vision,  and drones, for their day to day crowd control, and warrant delivery system, they cease being police, and become a standing army. Los Angeles police had a tank once. They used it to serve warrants. Their basic method was to drive the tank through the front of the house with a battalion of heavily armed soldiers in tow. Until they drove it over a pregnant woman watching TV in her living room, Oooops. What happened to knocking on the door?  We no longer have "police", we have occupiers. Police protect the public from violent attacks from criminal assailants. What we have are violent criminal assailants, with tanks. How long before they have F-16 fighter jets for issuing traffic tickets, with heat seeking missiles? Oh, that's right, they have drones for that. And, get this, if you find yourself getting beat by police, which happens on a regular basis these days, and you curl up in the fetal position trying to protect your vital organs, that's now considered "resisting arrest". If you video tape cops violating someones rights, that's "wiretapping". Even though "wiretapping" involves wires of some kind, that's irrelevant. Kinda like in the film 1984, words have a whole new meaning when it comes to government. Like when someone else does it it's called "terrorism", when the US government does the same thing, it's called "humanitarian". Go figure.