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Title: Trump expected to lift ban on military gear to local police forces
Source:
USA Today
URL Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news ... local-police-forces/606065001/
Published: Aug 28, 2017
Author: Kevin Johnson
Post Date: 2017-08-28 09:45:14 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 1143
Comments: 4
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is preparing to lift a controversial ban on the transfer of some surplus military equipment to police departments whose battlefield-style response to rioting in a St. Louis suburb three years ago prompted a halt to the program. The new plan, outlined in documents obtained by USA TODAY, would roll back an Obama administration executive order that blocked armored vehicles, large-caliber weapons, ammunition and other heavy equipment from being re-purposed from foreign battlefields to America's streets. On Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is scheduled to address the annual meeting of the Fraternal Order of Police, the nation's largest police union, and he may outline the program changes there. Administration officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The administration's action would restore "the full scope of a longstanding program for recycling surplus, lifesaving gear from the Department of Defense, along with restoring the full scope of grants used to purchase this type of equipment from other sources,'' according to a administration summary of the new program recently circulated to some law enforcement groups. "Assets that would otherwise be scrapped can be re-purposed to help state, local and tribal law enforcement better protect public safety and reduce crime." In this Aug. 9, 2014 file photo, a police tactical team moves in to disperse a group of protesters in Ferguson, Mo. (Photo: Jeff Roberson, AP) The FOP and some other law enforcement groups have long been pressing for a reversal of the Obama administration policy, arguing that access to such equipment was needed, especially in cash-strapped communities, to better respond to local unrest. Local access to the high-powered gear was put on national display in 2014 in Ferguson, Mo., where armored vehicles and heavily-armed police clashed with protesters for days following the police shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old black man by a white officer. The deployment of such equipment, President Obama argued at the time, cast the police as an "occupying force,'' deepening a divide between law enforcement and a wary community. "We've seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people a feeling like they're an occupying force, as opposed to a force that's part of the community that's protecting them and serving them," Obama said in announcing the ban in 2015. The military gear ban was among a host of policing reform recommendations to flow from a White House advisory group formed in the aftermath of the Ferguson rioting. The Task Force on 21st Century Policing, chaired by former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and Laurie Robinson, a former assistant attorney general, called on law enforcement officials to "minimize the appearance of a military operation'' when policing mass demonstrations. "Avoid using provocative tactics and equipment that undermine civilian trust," the task force urged. The previously-banned equipment also included tracked armored vehicles, bayonets and grenade launchers. The Obama order did allow for the limited use of other surplus — aircraft, wheeled tactical vehicles, mobile command units, battering rams and riot gear — on the condition that such equipment was approved by the federal government. The surplus sharing agreement, also known as the "1033 program," was created by Congress nearly 30 years ago as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. It was originally intended to assist local law enforcement in drug investigations. The program was expanded in 1997 to include all local law enforcement operations, including counter-terrorism. Since then, according to the government, more than $5 billion in gear has been transferred to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies. "Much of the equipment provided through the 1033 program is entirely defensive in nature ... that protect officers in active shooter scenarios and other dangerous situations," the Trump administration proposal says. Poster Comment: Trump's police state appears to be no different than Bush's.
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#1. To: Deckard (#0)
Gosh. Let's see. Should we wait until that meeting and report the facts on what Jeff Sessions actually proposed, or should we publish a story right now and speculate like crazy on what he might say? Let's speculate and make shit up because that way we can sell more newspapers.
They want every PD to have right stuff to MAGA, like The Butcher of Waco did. /s There musT be a ... link --- rioTing - murder for peace - prosperiTy - bruddahood ! If lefTist are using non consTiTuTional means To aTTain non consTiTuTional powers They need To be forcefully sTopped maybe The Mueller apparaTus can serve a good purpose love ps are reckless recreaTional drugs lifesTyles in The consTiTuTion - BR pss The black caucus sTarTs drooling dancing when They mobocrats talk abouT The joys spoils of democracy If you ... don't use exclamation points --- you should't be typeing ! Commas - semicolons - question marks are for girlie boys !
On Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is scheduled to address ... and he may outline the program changes there.
#2. To: Deckard, Janet Reno wanabes (#0)
armored vehicles, large-caliber weapons, ammunition and other heavy equipment
#3. To: Deckard (#0)
(Edited)
battlefield-style response to rioting in a St. Louis suburb three years ago prompted a halt to the program.
peace
jusTice
boris
drum rolling
#4. To: hondo68, misterwhiter (#2)
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
Those who most loudly denounce Fake News are typically those most aggressively disseminating it.
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