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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday August 29 2017, @06:36PM   Printer-friendly
from the the-business-of-war dept.

President Trump will sign an executive order to allow local police departments to receive or purchase military surplus equipment:

Police departments will now have access to military surplus equipment typically used in warfare, including grenade launchers, armored vehicles and bayonets, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Monday, describing it as "lifesaving gear."

The move rescinds limits on the Pentagon handouts that were put in place by President Barack Obama in 2015 amid a national debate over policing touched off by a spate of high-profile deaths of black men at the hands of the police, including the shooting death in 2014 of 18-year-old Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Mo., by a white officer. Some local residents viewed police use of military equipment during the ensuing protests as an unnecessary show of force and intimidation.

In a speech to the Fraternal Order of Police in Nashville, Mr. Sessions said Mr. Obama had made it harder for the police to protect themselves and their neighborhoods. "Those restrictions went too far," Mr. Sessions said. "We will not put superficial concerns above public safety."

Mr. Sessions said that President Trump would sign an executive order on Monday fully restoring the military program, called 1033, and that the president was doing "all he can to restore law and order and support our police across the country." [...] The program was started in the 1990s as a way for the military to transfer surplus equipment to federal, state and local police agencies fighting the drug war. More than $5 billion in surplus gear has been funneled to law enforcement agencies.

Organized gangs get to play soldier.

1033 Program.

Also at The Hill and USA Today.


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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by realDonaldTrump on Tuesday August 29 2017, @07:44PM (1 child)

    by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Tuesday August 29 2017, @07:44PM (#561060) Homepage Journal

    I salute our brave #MenInBlue who are doing a very, very dangerous job. Protecting us from an ALARMING wave of alt-left violence, I call it terrorism. I'm talking about the vicious attacks in Portland, in Alexandria at the Congressional Baseball Game on MY BIRTHDAY (egregious!), and in Charlottesville. Where 2 police lost their lives flying a helicopter. Because they didn't have a drone. Tragic! I'm bringing back a very, very successful program. That gives our amazing police the same tools our fine military uses. That our military is using so successfully in Somalia, in Sudan, in Yemen, in Afghanistan, in Syria, and many, many places. Giving cops the tools they need to do their jobs more safely, more efficiently. Whether it's a drone, an APC, a stealth bomber, an aircraft carrier, or the Mother of All Bombs. #WINNING 🇺🇸

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  • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday August 29 2017, @09:29PM

    by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday August 29 2017, @09:29PM (#561154)

    Proper use of MOABs by the Chicago PD would clear up the South Side gang issue.
    Bonus: it would help republicans win in IL.