I found this while I was stumbling around the internets this morning. From Alternet - FBI Deputizes Private Contractors With Extraordinary Powers, Including 'Shoot to Kill':

But there may be more to it than that. One business executive, who showed me his InfraGard card, told me they have permission to "shoot to kill" in the event of martial law. InfraGard is "a child of the FBI," says Michael Hershman, the chairman of the advisory board of the InfraGard National Members Alliance and CEO of the Fairfax Group, an international consulting firm.

Read the whole article.

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If it's true that our species is alone in the universe, then I'd have to say that the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little. ~ George Carlin

Before we start thinking through tinfoil hat "It Couldn't Happen Here" scenarios, let us look for understandable explanations as well.

I believe most Western countries have developed contingency scenarios for coping with civil disobedience and unrest. I have studied one in the UK. They are secret, so as not to cause alarm and also to avoid informing potential perpetrators of violence on our streets of strategies for dealing with this situation.

They are designed to protect the ordinary citizen, you and me, as well as government utilities and functions, from the sort of riots you have seen in one or two of your cities in the US and such as we saw in 1968 and more recently in Paris.

These scenarios include the use of the military where civilian law enforcement officers are inadequate to maintain control.

One of the problems with using the military as a last resort is that they are not trained in the use of minimum force and simple procedures such a unarmed crowd control. The lack of understanding of this was demonstrated in Iraq when the same people trained for warfare were expected to suddenly undertake operations more akin to policing.

The creation of a special unit highly trained for these situations is desirable in this context.

Yes, of course, concern will exist about the intent behind their use and how and for what purpose they may be deployed.

Their existence, however, is not by itself unusual and their specific training is not by itself other than a sensible assessment of effectiveness.