{"id":3337,"date":"2014-08-27T16:02:12","date_gmt":"2014-08-27T22:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/?p=3337"},"modified":"2014-08-27T16:02:12","modified_gmt":"2014-08-27T22:02:12","slug":"in-washington-second-thoughts-on-arming-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/in-washington-second-thoughts-on-arming-police\/","title":{"rendered":"In Washington, Second Thoughts on Arming Police"},"content":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Matt Apuzzo and\u00a0Michael S. Schmidt<\/a>, New York Times
\nclick here for original article<\/a><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Jolted by images of protesters clashing with heavily armed police officers in Missouri,\u00a0President Obama<\/a>\u00a0has ordered a comprehensive review of the government\u2019s decade-old strategy of\u00a0outfitting local police departments<\/a>\u00a0with military-grade body armor, mine-resistant trucks, silencers and automatic rifles, senior officials say.<\/p>\n

The White House-led review will consider whether the government should continue providing such equipment and, if so, whether local authorities have sufficient training to use it appropriately, said senior administration and law enforcement officials. The government will also consider whether it is keeping a close enough watch on equipment inventories, and how the weapons and other gear are used.<\/p>\n

The review, coupled with proposed legislation and planned congressional hearings, opens the possibility for significant changes in Washington\u2019s approach to\u00a0arming local law enforcement agencies<\/a>. Following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the government regarded the police as the frontline forces in a new war. While that role for local law enforcement is expected to remain, changes may be ordered to the system under which federal grants and a military surplus program have sent gear and money to police departments, often with no strings attached, to prepare for a terrorist attack.<\/p>\n

America got a\u00a0glimpse of that gear<\/a>\u00a0over the past two weeks in Ferguson, Mo., as police officers in full body armor rode military-style vehicles, firing tear gas and pointing assault rifles at protesters. Like departments nationwide, the police in the St. Louis area have been outfitted by federal grants and military surplus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole country and every representative and senator have seen the visuals, and at some level, it made all of us uncomfortable,\u201d said Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, a member of the\u00a0Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee<\/a>who will lead a hearing in September into police use of military-style equipment. \u201cIt\u2019s a moment where we can take a timeout and look at these policies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such reviews would have been unlikely in Washington before the Ferguson protests, which followed\u00a0the shooting death<\/a>\u00a0of an unarmed teenager by a police officer. For years, internal audits have raised concerns about the management and oversight of federal grants, but nothing until now has prompted the government to question the wisdom behind the programs.<\/p>\n

After the 9\/11 attacks, the government pushed billions of dollars to local law enforcement agencies through the Department of Justice and the newly created Department of Homeland Security. The grants paid for radios that allowed local police and fire officials to talk to each other during a crisis. Grants placed lifesaving equipment in ambulances and hospitals.<\/p>\n

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., in a statement released by his office on Saturday, said this equipment \u201cflowed to local police forces because they were increasingly being asked to assist in counterterrorism.\u201d But he also said that \u201cdisplays of force in response to mostly peaceful demonstrations can be counterproductive,\u201d and so \u201cit makes sense to take a look at whether military-style equipment is being acquired for the right purposes and whether there is proper training on when and how to deploy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Continue reading the main story<\/a>