Despite the scholarly interest in illustrating the manipulation and weakening of democratic institutions under populist regimes, the link between populism and policing has yet to be theorized. In this paper, I discuss the implications of populist politics on police practices and discourse in Turkey. Since the nation-wide Gezi protests in 2013, and more intensely the failed coup attempt in 2016, the police force has become increasingly oppressive in Turkey. Based on extensive fieldwork in three cities across Turkey between 2013 and 2015 as well as content analysis of Homeland Security Act (Ic Guvenlik Paketi), and online media accounts released by the police officers, this paper analyzes the relationship between strongman politics and police militarization in Turkey. The goal of this paper is to illustrate how recent restructuring of law enforcement since the Gezi protests, and after the failed coup, has emboldened police militarization while overshadowing reform efforts in Turkey. I ask, how do populist politics of polarization and governing through crisis shape and influence police practices and discourses? What are some of the implications of police militarization for minorities and popular opposition? I argue that the police overhaul could best be understood as part of the larger populist project of cooptation of democratic institutions in favor of strongman politics. This research shows that the police militarization under populist governance in Turkey is formed and maintained at the intersection of religious conservatism, (ultra)nationalism, militarism, and masculinity. Additionally, as the threats of insecurity and disorder become political capital for the populist regime, the police force becomes a (dis)ordering power, serving to intensify polarization and crisis rather than provide safety and security for all. Keywords: populism; police militarization; ultra-nationalism; conservatism; masculinity; Turkey