Several States Considering Bills to Stop Federal Militarization of Police

Sunday, March 22, 2015
By Paul Martin

SputnikNews.com
22.03.2015

Minnesota just became the latest state to consider a bill that would stop the militarization of police authorities in the state. For years, the federal government has been giving military gear to local police but, as controversy has swelled, some legislators are looking to stop the program.

The Pentagon’s 1033 program offers surplus military gear to local police forces for free or at little cost.

The program was created by the National Defense Authorization Act as part of the Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services to transfer excess military equipment to law enforcement agencies. More than 8,000 local law enforcement agencies have participated in the receiving an aggregate of $5.1 billion in military hardware from the Department of Defense since its inception in 1997.

States, to this point, have had little input as local police departments would work directly with the Department of Defense.

However, heavily armed police raids that have often ended up in the death of innocent bystanders as well as low-level targets have engendered a great deal of controversy. Many started to ask how the police became so well armed with military-grade helmets and shields, armored carriers and weapons. Program 1033 was found to be the culprit.

Media coverage exploded after exposure of the militarized police in Ferguson during the unrest last August and the program drew nationwide public attention.

The ACLU released a report chronicling the militarization of local law enforcement, documenting the rapid increase SWAT team deployment utilizing paramilitary tactics.

The Rest…HERE

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