Sen. Rand Paul has condemned police conduct in Ferguson, M.O., following the shooting death of Michael Brown on Saturday, The Huffington Post reported on Thursday.
The Libertarian-minded Kentucky senator attributed the "militarization of law enforcement" to an "expansion of government power," leading into to his advocacy for smaller government, according to an op-ed in Time.
Paul also wrote that it is "impossible for African-Americans not to feel like their government is particularly targeting them," turning to how "racial disparities" distort the criminal justice system.
"Anyone who thinks race does not skew the application of criminal justice in this country is just not paying close enough attention," he said in the op-ed.
He added that if he had been told to get out of the street as a teenager, he might have mouthed off to the officer, but he wouldn't have expected to get shot. The outrage in the St. Louis suburb is understandable, but there is never an excuse for rioting or looting, the senator said. Police need to keep the peace, but there should be a recognizable difference between a police response and a military response.
"The images and scenes we continue to see in Ferguson resemble war more than traditional police action," Paul said.
Later in the op-ed, Paul equates the problem with today's law enforcement to what he refers to as big government. The nation's capital has incentivized the militarization of police precincts by using federal money to help local governments build "what are essentially small armies."
Paul is a likely contender for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 election. He hasn't been quiet about trying to appeal to a broader base of voters by backing a voting rights bill and criticizing drug policies that disproportionately affect minority Americans, according to The Huffington Post.
