D.C. Has Done Nothing About Its Role in Militarizing Police

[Lucille]

http://reason.com/blog/2014/11/25/dc-has-done-nothing-about-police-militar

Remember how, in the wake of some of the worst responses by the police in Ferguson to even peaceful protesters (propping themselves up on military vehicles and training sniper rifles at them) there was supposed to be some sort of discussion or debate about scaling back the federal government's role in providing military equipment to law enforcement agencies across the country? Unsurprisingly, that doesn't seem to be happening. For those who don't remember what was said back in August, here's Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) talking about it; here's Ron Paul talking about it; here's parody site Clickhole mocking it; here's citizens of Ferguson talking about it; and here's President Barack Obama notably not talking about it.

Granted it's only been a couple of months and Congress moves slowly, but BuzzFeed checked in to see that there doesn't seem to be any movement to scale back the programs that provide military-grade equipment to law enforcement agencies. They spoke with former Reason editor and police militarization expert Radley Balko:

Lawmakers vowed changes to the Pentagon programs that deliver military-grade equipment to local police after images of cops climbing out of armored vehicles with military-grade weapons filtered out of Ferguson, Missouri, in August.

But months later, the chaotic 1033 program — which sends surplus military gear built for combat to local police forces with little oversight — hasn't changed at all.

The 113th Congress will end without substantive changes to the program. The White House hasn't announced the results of its policy review. The flow of billions in technology designed for the battlefield to local police forces will go on unabated.

"The fear is that this is some kind of moment that passed. It's just another example of temporary interest in a crisis and inevitably things go back to normal," said Radley Balko, a prominent expert on police militarization and author of the most cited book on the topic. "Looking at the history on this issue tends to make one cynical."

After Ferguson, some communities began to demand that their local governments divest themselves of their biggest items, those giant mine resistant and ambush proof (MRAP) vehicles. In September, the Los Angeles Times noted that the Los Angeles Unified School District had snagged all sorts of military gear, including machine guns, grenade launchers and an MRAP truck. At the time the department said they'd give up the grenade launchers but insisted on keeping the guns and truck.

 

[acptulsa]

...the Los Angeles Unified School District had snagged all sorts of military gear, including machine guns, grenade launchers and an MRAP truck.

If we heard of a shop that specialized in Waterford crystal and Limoges china issuing that stuff to their security guards, is there anyone so stupid that they wouldn't laugh at the insanity of it?

 

[charrob]

GOP Leaders Prevent Police De-militarization Bill from House Vote



[size=+1]
GOP Leaders Block Police De-militarization Bill from House Vote:[/size]


WASHINGTON -- The only Congressional response to this summer's brutal police crackdown in Ferguson, Missouri appears to be dead, with the House GOP leadership blocking a vote on a bipartisan bill introduced by Reps. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Raul Labrador (R-Idaho).

The legislation seeks to curb controversial transfers of military weapons and equipment to local police forces. It would ban the Pentagon from granting local police free automatic weapons, armored vehicles, weaponized drones, combat helicopters, grenades, silencers, sound cannons and other equipment, although police could still purchase such gear with local budgets or through grants from the Department of Homeland Security.

It would also impose more stringent safeguards to account for the equipment that does get transferred. Collectively, more than $4 billion in military weaponry and equipment has been distributed to police forces across the U.S. since the inception of the initiative, known as the 1033 Program.

The bill is Johnson's baby, crafted prior to the protests in Ferguson but introduced in September after Johnson courted backing from Labrador and other Republicans, including Reps. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.) and Tom McClintock (R-Calif.).

In June, the House shot down similar legislation introduced by Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) by a vote of 355 to 62. But Grayson's amendment had been subject to limited debate in which opponents insisted that police never misuse their Pentagon gear.

"To just outright ban the usage of that equipment would devastate local law enforcement agencies across the nation," Rep. Richard Nugent (R-Fla.) said on the House floor in June. "This is absolutely ludicrous, to think the equipment that's utilized by law enforcement is utilized for any reason other than public safety."

"It's not misused," said Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) at the time. "The law enforcement agencies in the Northeast that benefit from this equipment have used it to make sure that all of our citizens are protected. And not only in the Northeast."

In March, Johnson wrote an op-ed for USA Today about the issue that garnered little fanfare. But public attitudes on police militarization changed dramatically in August, after the widespread use of tear gas, armored vehicles and rubber bullets to target Ferguson citizens protesting the Aug. 9 shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown by officer Darren Wilson.

Public outrage at images from Ferguson that many compared to a military occupation gave Johnson some hope that his bill might see action in the final months of 2014. But even with a few Republicans among the bill's 45 co-sponsors, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) has refused to give the demilitarization bill a committee vote. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), meanwhile, has prevented the bill from coming to the House floor.

Johnson's office told HuffPost that the congressman plans to reintroduce the bill next year, but acknowledged that its prospects are limited in the wake of the GOP's gains in the November midterm elections. House Republicans awarded a host of key chairmanships to national security hawks after the midterms, dealing a blow to the party's libertarian wing.

"He's going to continue working on this," Andy Phelan, a spokesman for Johnson, told HuffPost. "But it's really now an education campaign."

 

[roho76]

Why would they? It's not like this is by design.

 

[Occam's Banana]

Looking at the history on this issue tends to make one cynical.

Fixed.

 

[PaleoPaul]

I think our only option left is to disarm the police like they do in Britain, from the lowest local Barney Fife all the way to the top dog US Marshal.