13 states refuse to disclose how many tanks, assault weapons etc., they've gotten from the 1033 program
Since the Pentagon refuses to disclose which police departments nationwide had received weapons, armored vehicles and even bomb robots. MuckRock submitted public records requests to all 50 state coordinators.
More than half the states released their spreadsheets. To date, 37 states have done so, opening up the 1033 program to public accountability.
Thirteen state coordinators that have yet to disclose which agencies have received excess military equipment.
The reasons that state coordinators cited for withholding agency-by-agency data varied. The Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, for instance, cited an exemption under the state public records statute for "Investigating records compiled for law enforcement purposes," but failed to explain how the 1033 program spreadsheets fall into this category.
The Massachusetts State Police similarly claimed that releasing the 1033 equipment transfer spreadsheet would "undermine public safety as it relates to security measures and emergency preparedness."
Mass. State Police training at Fort Devens:
The North Carolina Department of Public Safety suggested that releasing the spreadsheet would "be like providing criminals a blueprint on how to harm law enforcement or get around their security tactics when trying to prevent crime and/or a serious event."
Six states rejected the request outright:
Massachusetts
Michigan
New Jersey
North Carolina
South Dakota
West Virginia
MuckRock has appealed these rejections for Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and South Dakota. There is no administrative appeal available to requesters under the public records statutes in North Carolina and West Virginia.
Six states claim not to have any such spreadsheet:
Alabama
Delaware
Maine
Rhode Island
Virginia
Wyoming
The Louisiana Federal Property Assistance Agency of Louisiana insisted that fulfilling the same request would involve printing approximately 20,000 pages of paper files at a cost of $5,000.
Shipping would cost extra, the agency indicated.
Notably, the LFPAA has not provided a copy of the memorandum of agreement each state coordinator must sign with the Defense Logistics Agency. Even states that rejected the request for agency-by-agency spreadsheets provided this basic agreement.
Veteran cop defends law enforcement's use of military vehicles using condescension & baseless claims:
15-year police veteran Steve Rabinovich posted an article (which is actually more of an advertisement for two tactical training companies) discussing the proper care and feeding of your PD's MRAP.
Now, through the 1033 program, these officers and deputies are prepared to use the proper tools for what threats may come. We all understand that improper and ignorant application of these tools is not only a liability, its deliberate indifference. These trucks feel, drive, and act unlike anything most drivers and teams are used to — to simply put them to use without proper training is asking for people to get hurt or killed.
Rabinovich details this MRAP training, most of which involves handling the heavy, unwieldy vehicles, as well as the unique bonding experience that is advanced tactical training at a "flagship Nebraska facility."
One of the most unique things about this course was the positive attitude and genuine desire to learn which didn’t stop when the class was dismissed. Everything from class topics to shooting positions to medical equipment was discussed around the fire pit under the Nebraska moon.
Rabinovich linked to another article: "Your agency got a 1033 MRAP!" which might be viewed as "tone deaf," at best. In this one, Rabinovich offers three justifications for any law enforcement agency that feels a mine-resistant vehicle is a worthy addition to its fleet of vehicles.
1. Better-equipped and trained police are a better asset to protect and serve their communities.
2. In some quarters, violent anti-government groups and individuals are targeting cops as scapegoats.
3. There has been a steady increase in deadly and violent assaults on cops — as well as acts of domestic and international terrorism — many of which are reported in limited scope or not publicly known.
The argument rests on the assumption that a more well-protected police force is a net win for the community.
How does the acquisition of an MRAP better train police? Rabinovich doesn't explore this logical dead end any further, so it's left up to the audience to make its own assumptions.
"Violent anti-government groups" is a very recent talking point, one used to paint govt. accountability groups as "violent," using a very broad brush in hopes of destroying the credibility of Peaceful Streets or Cop Block. Rabinovich further cheapens this by portraying these groups as "scapegoating" police officers, but once again fails to clarifiy his choice of words. Nothing further is written that explains why these officers are being "scapegoated" and Rabinovich doesn't even bother to give any examples of this "targeting."
Police work isn't becoming increasingly dangerous, even with the supposed corresponding uptick in "domestic and international terrorism." Rabinovich must know this assertion won't hold up because he adds the ridiculous claim that attacks on cops are ignored by much of the media or never reported at all. The exact opposite is the truth. In addition, the number of officers killed or wounded by civilians is a stat tracked by nearly every law enforcement agency. Civilians killed or wounded by police officers are stats tracked by amateurs, despite the fact that the DoJ has ordered these numbers to be reported annually -- an order that has been mostly ignored for the last thirteen years.
Rabinovich offers these terrible justifications and follows it up with this:
If these are the trucks being given away, these are the truck being implemented into law enforcement service. If someone thinks their tax dollars are better served letting these assets rust away or be given to foreign armies, maybe their cash is greener than yours or mine.
If you're against police militarization then you must be for wasting tax dollars and arming foreigners. It's that simple. You could not be any less of an American.
Law enforcement agencies don't need mine-resistant vehicles, assault rifles and grenade launchers. Law enforcement has existed without all three for several decades, including years when being a cop was much more dangerous than it is now. These justifications are B.S.
Former Marine Corps Colonel Peter Martino, who was stationed in Fallujah and trained Iraqi soldiers, warned last year that \DHS is working with law enforcement to build a “domestic army,” because the federal government is afraid of its own citizens.
Martino was speaking at a council meeting concerning a decision to purchase a BearCat armored vehicle. The purchase of the vehicle was mired in controversy after the city’s Police Chief wrote in an application filing to the DHS that the vehicle was needed to deal with the “threat” posed by libertarians, sovereign citizen adherents, and Occupy activists in the region.