You may be right, jd. I have thought, for a while now, not that they are afraid of us, but that they are more interested in protecting themselves than in doing their job of protecting us.
Notice how in all the recent mass murder/terrorist attacks (with the exception of the Fort Hood shootings) the cops always seem to arrive late and do not confront the shooter while the shooting’s going on. They may be concerned with liability, or the safety of themselves and others, but the upshot is all they do is clean up the mess when it’s over. They don’t stop it.
As for Lake Jackson and other small towns with SWAT teams, buying this stuff is enabled by federal grants. The money’s there, the “boys” want new toys and the town takes advantage of it. It is ridiculous, though.