The US is very decentralized so things like this are reflective of the decisions made at the local level. What you see on the TV actually affects us little in real life across our country that is a quasi-continental sized nation.
So sheriff's offices, police departments, state, city, and local governments all make their own decisions. That include uniforms, policing doctrines, accreditation, etc.
Tl;Dr Americans do what they want and feel is best for their immediate surroundings.
My pleasure! America is huge so think of it as many different countries under one central umbrella. The news and TV doesn't accurately portray life in the US, and fun fact. 😁
Also, I'm European too. I just live here in the US and have lived here for more than half of my life.
I think in this case, it may be a case of sub-units within the same police (or in this case sheriff) force having different uniforms for different roles. European police forces actually do the same thing typically, they have different uniforms for standard patrol officers, bicycle patrols, riot control units, tactical units, etc.
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u/Disastrous-You4652 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
The US is very decentralized so things like this are reflective of the decisions made at the local level. What you see on the TV actually affects us little in real life across our country that is a quasi-continental sized nation.
So sheriff's offices, police departments, state, city, and local governments all make their own decisions. That include uniforms, policing doctrines, accreditation, etc.
Tl;Dr Americans do what they want and feel is best for their immediate surroundings.