The Town of Palm Beach has acquired a military-surplus Humvee:

It’s a quiet Saturday afternoon outside the Palm Beach Police Department.

Quiet, that is, until Sgt. Scott Duquette starts up one of the department’s newest acquisitions — a 2001 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, commonly known as a Humvee.

Anyone who has any doubts about the militarisation of American police forces should lay those doubts aside.  Although hurricane rescue and other humanitarian missions are the ostensible purpose for this vehicle, the riff-raff will think twice before messing with Palm Beach’s finest.

The least they could have done to soften the image is to let Lilly Pulitzer’s people paint it.  (All three of her children, BTW, are still on the island and active).