The racial tensions, looting, vandalism and police tactics that have followed Michael Brown's death in Ferguson, Missouri, have raised the question: Is this really what America looks like in 2014?
Brown, a black 18-year-old who was unarmed, was reportedly shot and killed by a police officer on Saturday in Ferguson, a predominantly black suburb of St. Louis. Residents protesting his death have flooded the streets this week, and photographs of police trying to contain them bear an eerie resemblance to a military operation.
As America scaled back its presence in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2012, military gear -- amphibious tanks, weapons, uniforms and drones -- spilled into local police arsenals. In June, an ACLU report warned of the "excessive militarization" of local law enforcement. "This has the effect of terrifying people, destroying communities and actually undermining public safety," Kara Dansky, ACLU senior counsel, told Mashable in June.
The photos below show the heavily armed Ferguson police officers, dressed in camouflaged uniforms. They are set side-by-side with images of U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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BONUS: Chaotic Scenes From Inside Ferguson