Law enforcement authority does not operate like the military; therefore, they don’t need a military solution to take out a couple of thugs, even if said thugs are armed with fully-automatics and bullet retardant vest. LEOs do not need a military weapon that was originally designed for the Army as a form of indirect artillery and is now used as a primary means of suppression. LEOs need the best personnel body armor that tax payers can buy, and they need only the following (lethal) weapons: a pistol, shotgun, and high-powered rifle.
Let the thugs stand out in the middle of the street firing their Kalashnikovs while donning their so called “bullet proof vest”, and officer with a .30-06 sniper rile can take them out with one clean shot apiece. The Para-military approach may show bravado, but it recklessly endangers not only officers’ lives but the civilian’s as well due to all of the “spraying and praying.”