[widebody911]

I think we're seeing a cycle of escalation.

* Police start buying bigger, badder spoons "because that's what the bad guys have."
* They break them out at every opportunity, "to keep their skills sharp" and "you never know what will happen." "If we don't use 'em, we lose 'em"
* The next fiscal year they say "Hey, we conducted umpteen raids last year, so we should upgrade our spoons again."
* Lather, rinse, repeat.

Nobody has the balls to say "no" to the cops, and the militarization continues.