Police lobbying group tells Congress they need to be militarized

The National Tactical Officers Association, the lobbying group for 1,600 SWAT teams across the country, emailed all legislative staffers in the House and Senate to express that they shared in “our nation’s grief” over the events in Ferguson, Missouri.


But their ultimate message was unmistakable: Don’t take away our gear.


“The police have to be one step ahead of the criminal element, have to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. You don’t want a community to be taken over by one or many criminals,” NTOA Executive Director Mark Lomax explained to The Daily Beast. “We’re definitely for equipping our law enforcement officials out there properly, with proper training and proper policies.”

The Fraternal Order of Police, the largest police organization in the country, lobbying to keep military gear.

“We are the most vigorous law enforcement advocacy group, and we intend to be at our most vigorous on this issue,” said Jim Pasco, the executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, the largest police organization in the country.
So far, most of the conversation in Washington, D.C., has tended in the other direction, and a number of lawmakers say they want to curtail or eliminate the transfer of military equipment to civilian law enforcement.


Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s office is considering introducing a bill that would prohibit all transfers of weapons from the military to law enforcement officials, establishing a kind of church-state boundary that couldn’t be crossed. Elsewhere in the Capitol, the idea of having House Republicans defund the Pentagon’s weapons transfer program is also being mulled over.


Democrats have also expressed concern over the issue. Rep. Hank Johnson is rallying his colleagues behind a bill that would reform the Pentagon’s 1033 program, which facilitates the transfer of equipment to law enforcement, while Sen. Carl Levin said that the Senate Armed Services Committee would reassess it the program.


Sadly the mass media is FINALLY reporting about police departments acquiring military grade weaponry, it's been going on for years & the media has been mostly silent about it. Unfortunately  today's news has two stories about police in Colorado & Florida acquiring MRAP's.


“Congress established this program out of real concern that local law enforcement agencies were literally outgunned by drug criminals,” Levin said in a statement. “We will review this program to determine if equipment provided by the Defense Department is being used as intended.”


One broad criticism emerging from the unrest in Ferguson, including from the National Black Police Association, concerns the deployment of tank-like Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles by local police.

Since the program began in the 1990s, the Defense Department has given $5.1 billion worth of the excess military gear to local law enforcement agencies, leading to what critics say is a “militarization” of local law enforcement.

Additionally, there are two other programs, run by the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department, that arm police with sophisticated equipment.

Pasco said his group is working to counter what he calls “misinformation.”

“It looks like the main thrust of our effort is going to be educational because there's an awful lot of misunderstanding and an awful lot of misinformation about this equipment as to its purposes and its application in civilian law enforcement,” Pasco said.

He said armored vehicles and Kevlar helmets protect officers and citizens in defensive situations such as mass shootings. YEP you read that right, armored vehicles (tanks), protect officers in situations, like protests, where have we seen this before?

"They talk about these Humvees as if they're these weapons of mass destruction," Pasco said.

“There is no need to roll in urban warfare equipment anticipating and wanting a battle with citizens who only demand answers,” said Malik Aziz, national chair of the NBPA. “In many cities the acquisition of these MRAPs and other tools are almost useless… Most of these MRAPs are too big and bulky and not designed for urban environments” Jessie Rossman, an attorney for the ACLU, said.

“The idea of looking out your window and seeing an armored vehicle rolling down the street, that's a reality. We're seeing it in Ferguson, we know that's happening nationwide. Those same things are happening here in Massachusetts,” Rossman said.

Rossman went on to say: “This isn't a war zone. Police officers aren't' soldiers, they take an oath to serve and protect their community. You're not doing that when you're treating everyone within your community either as an insurgent or an informant.”

The MRAPs have garnered nationwide attention due to their imposing size, with some critics arguing that they set a confrontational tone and invite violence. But other law enforcement groups rallied to justify the usefulness of MRAPs.


“The presence of an MRAP for defensive positioning should not unnerve a law-abiding citizen,” responded Jon Adler, the national president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association.


 “Police officers are human and bleed like everyone else. They deserve the best protection from violent assaults, and providing them with MRAPs or advanced body armor minimizes their exposure to serious injury or death.”


Mike Willis, executive director of the United States Deputy Sheriff’s Association, ticked off possible uses for MRAPs: protection in an active shooter situation, transportation in extreme flooding, defense against Molotov cocktails during a riot, and rescue scenarios.


Law enforcement groups worry that, with all the talk of law enforcement “militarization,” a congressional response may overcompensate, depriving them not only of armored vehicles but other vital equipment offered through the 1033 program like rescue boats, generators, body armor and ATVs.


“The appropriate compromise is, let’s talk about training, which is not part of the original 1033 program,” Lomax said. “Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater… We believe that the 1033 program has done a lot for law enforcement over the last 20 years, and that it should continue, with reservations.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/21/swat-lobby-takes-a-shot-at-congress.html
http://www.whdh.com/story/26341782/local-police-say-military-equipment-is-necessary-to-protect

Here are some pictures of police departments use of the 1033 program:


The MRAP
MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles are armored war vehicles used by various armed forces, whose designed purpose is surviving improvised explosive device. The government is givng away 13,000 of these to patrol American streets.

The Bearcat
St Louis Police where quick to use a military medical vehicle as a offensive unit during the Ferguson riots.  The Lenco BearCat is a armored personnel carrier designed for military evacuation.

The M113 is a military vehicle manufactured by BAE Systems. Dubbed “The Tank” by locals,  is really a type of APC (Armored personal carrier) armed with a primary weapon of at most a 20mm autocannon before falling into the infantry fighting vehicle sub-classification, and will most likely be outfitted with one or more machine guns ranging from 5.56mm to 7.62mm.


The Sheriff in Rock County, Wisconsin, purchased one of these with a bearcat instead up upgrading out of date handguns.

The GTK Boxer is another form of APC (Armored personal carrier). The Military equipment has a multirole purpose designed to accomplish a number of operations through the use of different installable add ons. It could be a offensiv evehicle, or it could be a defensive vehicle. It is created and designed by the ARTEC GmbH (ARmoured vehicle TEChnology)

Police in Cobb County, Georgia, now have an amphibious tank. The sheriff of Richland County, S.C., proudly acquired a machine-gun-equipped armored personnel carrier that he nicknamed “The Peacemaker.” Business Insider Reports.

The Rook

The manufacturers website touts:
 

“The Rook Vehicle is custom designed and fabricated by Ring Power Corporation, the North and Central Florida Caterpillar® dealer. Utilizing the powerful Cat® 287C Multi-Terrain Loader with 84 gross HP engine, 13,000 lbs. operating weight, rugged wide rubber tracks, dual joystick controls, and enclosed cab with air conditioning/heat and operator comfort seat, custom installed bullet-proof glass, and NIJ Level IV armor cab reinforcement fabrication.”

Drones
Once upon a time you where a conspiracy theorist for conjuring up a belief in Drones. Now you can expect everything from business’s to local law enforcement to be equipped with these units. These will come taser ready and with 3D inferred mapping so do not expect privacy, even in your own home.

http://therundownlive.com/list-military-equipment-used-local-police-1033-program/

Four more must read articles about police militarization:

1.) Click here to read about police militarization and the threat it poses to democracy.
2.) Click here to read about why police are being allowed to militarize and the dangers it poses.
3.) Click here to read how police joint force terrorist exercises encourage police militarization
4.) Click here to read about our government & the UN's agenda to police our country.