While the nation has been distracted by a media maelstrom dominated by news of white supremacists, Powerball jackpots, Hurricane Harvey, and a Mayweather v. McGregor fight, the American Police State has been carving its own path of devastation and destruction through what’s left of the Constitution.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is criticizing President Trump’s decision to reopen military gear to local police forces.
The Trump administration and Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Monday an executive order to President Obama’s 2015 ban on the 1033 Pentagon program, which allowed local and state police to arm themselves with military equipment.
Nonmilitary federal agencies have spent almost US$1.5 billion on guns, ammunition, and military-style equipment.
A new report by a taxpayer watchdog group reveals that the growing militarization in the United States goes beyond police departments by showing how nonmilitary federal agencies are arming themselves like military units.
The report “The Militarization of America” examines government expenditures by 67 federal agencies between 2006 and 2014 and found that they spent US$1.48 billion stockpiling guns, ammunition and other military-style equipment.
“The recent growth of the federal arsenal begs the questions: Just who are the feds planning to battle?” American Tranparency’s Adam Andrzejewski, the author of the report, recently wrote in Forbes.
The report states that “administrative agencies including the Food and Drug Administration, Small Business Administration, Smithsonian Institution, Social Security Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Mint, Department of Education, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and many other agencies purchased guns, ammo, and military-style equipment.”
For example, the Internal Revenue Service spent nearly US$11 million arming itself, while the Environmental Protection Agency spent US$3.1 million.
The report also states: “The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service spent US$4.77 million purchasing shotguns, .308 caliber rifles, night vision goggles, propane cannons, liquid explosives, pyro supplies, buckshot, LP gas cannons, drones, remote controlled helicopters, thermal cameras, military waterproof thermal infrared scopes, and more.”
“As the Obama administration and its allies are pushing hard for an assault weapons ban on private citizens, taxpayers are asking why IRS agents need AR-15s,” wrote report author Andrzejewski. “After grabbing legal power, federal bureaucrats are amassing firepower. It’s time to scale back the federal arsenal.”
There is an old saying that is very important in its depth – divide and conquer. Yes the Black Community is outraged. But have things really remained the same or are we dealing with a new movement of government against the people? Most Americans are at least aware of or remember the race-related riots that tore throughout numerous cities in the United States during the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1971, civil disturbances (as many as 700, by one count) resulted in large numbers of injuries, deaths, and arrests, as well as considerable property damage, concentrated in predominantly black areas.
What was amazing is that this civil unrest started precisely in 1964, which like 2014 now, was the turning point in the war cycle. What has taken place in Ferguson is simply outrageous. However, the Black Community needs to learn a lesson from history. They will only diminish their own position by characterizing this as simply a race issue. This time – its is different. It is government against everyone.
Although the United States has experienced race-related civil disturbances throughout its history, the 1960s events were unprecedented in their frequency and scope. They coincided with the upturn in the War Cycle in 1964 but characterizing them as simply a race issue then was perhaps on point. Law enforcement authorities took extraordinary measures to end the riots, sometimes including the mobilization of National Guard units. The most deadly riots were in Detroit (1967 picture as the heading), Los Angeles (1965), and Newark (1967). Measuring riot severity by also including arrests, injuries, and arson adds Washington (1968) to that list. Particularly following the death of Martin Luther King in April 1968, the riots signaled the end of the carefully orchestrated, non-violent demonstrations of the early Civil Rights Movement.
Today with the upturn in the War Cycle there is a different issue. The militarization of the police is against everyone. The incident in Ferguson may not be simply a race incident. This may be related to the militarization of police and the hostile attitude they are displaying everywhere. I was stopped in a road-block on my way to work in the morning. It was an unconstitutional stop for every car was stopped to see if you had all your documents. If you did not, they sent you to a line for tickets. There was no smile or friendly police officer asking for your papers. It felt very much like the East German police when I went behind the Berlin Wall – “papers please”, and I am not even sure there was a “please”.
The Black Community would do well realizing that this militarization of the police was NOT designed simply for them. This is against ALL Americans and they should be wise to distinguish this militarization as being un-American. It looks like we may be on a turn in race riots once again. They began precisely in 1964 with the turn in the War Cycle and it appears we are on schedule here as well. If so, the peak will not arrive before 2017-2018.
Rep. Hank Johnson: Militarization prevents community policing
By Jacqueline Klimas – The Washington Times – Friday, August 15, 2014
Rep. Hank Johnson, Georgia Democrat, said Friday that the situation in Ferguson, Missouri, will make lawmakers more likely to support his bill to limit what military equipment can be acquired by local police.
“I believe that what we’re getting now with the visuals that have been displayed on TV, I believe that the American people and the legislators have seen the results of the militarization,” he said on MSNBC. “That militarization creates the type of atmosphere where it’s difficult if not impossible to do community policing.”
Police have responded to protests in Ferguson with tear gas, rubber bullets and armored vehicles after police Officer Darren Wilson allegedly killed an unarmed 18-year-old black man, Michael Brown, on Saturday.
Mr. Johnson’s bill would prevent local police forces from acquiring automatic weapons and weapons higher than 50 caliber, armored vehicles, armored drones, silencers and stun grenades from the Defense Department as the equipment comes back from war.
“If a local law enforcement department should have it, then the citizens representatives should allocate money to pay for that equipment,” he said.
Mr. Johnson said he plans to introduce the bill in September when Congress returns to Washington.
Police in riot gear watch protesters in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014. Jeff Roberson—AP
Anyone who thinks race does not skew the application of criminal justice in this country is just not paying close enough attention, Sen. Rand Paul writes for TIME, amid violence in Ferguson, Mo. over the police shooting death of Michael Brown
The shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown is an awful tragedy that continues to send shockwaves through the community of Ferguson, Missouri and across the nation.
If I had been told to get out of the street as a teenager, there would have been a distinct possibility that I might have smarted off. But, I wouldn’t have expected to be shot.
The outrage in Ferguson is understandable—though there is never an excuse for rioting or looting. There is a legitimate role for the police to keep the peace, but there should be a difference between a police response and a military response.
The images and scenes we continue to see in Ferguson resemble war more than traditional police action.
Glenn Reynolds, in Popular Mechanics, recognized the increasing militarization of the police five years ago. In 2009 he wrote:
Soldiers and police are supposed to be different. … Police look inward. They’re supposed to protect their fellow citizens from criminals, and to maintain order with a minimum of force.
It’s the difference between Audie Murphy and Andy Griffith. But nowadays, police are looking, and acting, more like soldiers than cops, with bad consequences. And those who suffer the consequences are usually innocent civilians.
The Cato Institute’s Walter Olson observed this week how the rising militarization of law enforcement is currently playing out in Ferguson:
Why armored vehicles in a Midwestern inner suburb? Why would cops wear camouflage gear against a terrain patterned by convenience stores and beauty parlors? Why are the authorities in Ferguson, Mo. so given to quasi-martial crowd control methods (such as bans on walking on the street) and, per the reporting of Riverfront Times, the firing of tear gas at people in their own yards? (“‘This my property!’ he shouted, prompting police to fire a tear gas canister directly at his face.”) Why would someone identifying himself as an 82nd Airborne Army veteran, observing the Ferguson police scene, comment that “We rolled lighter than that in an actual warzone”?
Olson added, “the dominant visual aspect of the story, however, has been the sight of overpowering police forces confronting unarmed protesters who are seen waving signs or just their hands.”
How did this happen?
Most police officers are good cops and good people. It is an unquestionably difficult job, especially in the current circumstances.
There is a systemic problem with today’s law enforcement.
Not surprisingly, big government has been at the heart of the problem. Washington has incentivized the militarization of local police precincts by using federal dollars to help municipal governments build what are essentially small armies—where police departments compete to acquire military gear that goes far beyond what most of Americans think of as law enforcement.
This is usually done in the name of fighting the war on drugs or terrorism. The Heritage Foundation’s Evan Bernick wrote in 2013 that, “the Department of Homeland Security has handed out anti-terrorism grants to cities and towns across the country, enabling them to buy armored vehicles, guns, armor, aircraft, and other equipment.”
Bernick continued, “federal agencies of all stripes, as well as local police departments in towns with populations less than 14,000, come equipped with SWAT teams and heavy artillery.”
Bernick noted the cartoonish imbalance between the equipment some police departments possess and the constituents they serve, “today, Bossier Parish, Louisiana, has a .50 caliber gun mounted on an armored vehicle. The Pentagon gives away millions of pieces of military equipment to police departments across the country—tanks included.”
When you couple this militarization of law enforcement with an erosion of civil liberties and due process that allows the police to become judge and jury—national security letters, no-knock searches, broad general warrants, pre-conviction forfeiture—we begin to have a very serious problem on our hands.
Given these developments, it is almost impossible for many Americans not to feel like their government is targeting them. Given the racial disparities in our criminal justice system, it is impossible for African-Americans not to feel like their government is particularly targeting them.
This is part of the anguish we are seeing in the tragic events outside of St. Louis, Missouri. It is what the citizens of Ferguson feel when there is an unfortunate and heartbreaking shooting like the incident with Michael Brown.
Anyone who thinks that race does not still, even if inadvertently, skew the application of criminal justice in this country is just not paying close enough attention. Our prisons are full of black and brown men and women who are serving inappropriately long and harsh sentences for non-violent mistakes in their youth.
The militarization of our law enforcement is due to an unprecedented expansion of government power in this realm. It is one thing for federal officials to work in conjunction with local authorities to reduce or solve crime. It is quite another for them to subsidize it.
Americans must never sacrifice their liberty for an illusive and dangerous, or false, security. This has been a cause I have championed for years, and one that is at a near-crisis point in our country.
Let us continue to pray for Michael Brown’s family, the people of Ferguson, police, and citizens alike.
If the Defense Department is claiming their budgets are being gutted, why are they transferring hundreds of millions in military equipment to local police departments around the country? If the Federal Government gives military equipment to local police, they will use it to prove it is necessary. The violent crime rate in this country is at two decade lows. There is no valid reason for local police departments to have military equipment. The Federal Government is preparing for a civil uprising after their financial Ponzi scheme collapses. There is no other logical explanation for this domestic military buildup.
DOD Program Puts Military Equipment in Hands of Local Law Enforcement
The Department of Defense’s 1033 program is helping arm law enforcement with weapons used to wage wars. Millions of dollars of military equipment are in our backyard on standby if the worst happens.
Police say the equipment is needed to battle a threat that is equally armed. “It is equipment that we need and can use,” stated Captain Glen Hanger of the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office. But others say it’s creating an unnecessary army. “Yeah, they are overly militarized,” said John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute.
In this NBC29 special report, we investigated what some call the militarization of police departments and sheriff’s offices across Virginia.
“It may just be that a local police department like Charlottesville or Albemarle might have to stand up a contingent of resources to use overwhelming force to maintain the safety of this community.” said Chief Tim Longo of the Charlottesville Police Department.
In May 2014, fully armed police officers surrounded an auto collision center in Albemarle County during a tense four-hour standoff with an armed suspect. In 2013, SWAT teams raided a house on Rugby Road in Charlottesville, uncovering a major fake identification card operation. And in 2012, electronic surveillance equipment and an armored truck brought an end to a deadly standoff on Rio Mills Road.
“The rifles for example, helmets, those kinds of things that protect our officers were certainly valuable in resolving those incidents,” said Colonel Steve Sellers of the Albemarle County Police Department.
Congress authorized the 1033 program in 1996. The program, now run by the Defense Logistics Agency, allows excess military property to be transferred to state and local agencies. Since then, Virginia has received $107,308,266.70 in military equipment including vehicles, weapons, and general property.
“I think this is a very critical program for law enforcement,” said Longo.
We combed though a Department of Defense database, line by line, to see what’s here in Virginia. We found stockpiles of rifles, mine-resistant vehicles, and even a grenade launcher at the ready for local law enforcement officers. Charlottesville obtained 12 rifles, Augusta received five rifles and Albemarle has stockpiled 154 guns under the program – the most of any agency. Greene has an armored vehicle, Rockingham County received a grenade launcher and Culpeper now has a mine-resistant vehicle.
“(It) does not cost the taxpayer money because it’s already been purchased,” said Captain Glen Hanger of the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office.
The argument is true; localities don’t have to pay for equipment acquired through the 1033 program. But federal dollars – or taxpayer dollars – were originally used to buy the equipment.
“Back then and today those are ways for police departments to save money to not impact county budgets,” said Sellers.
Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute says American citizens are becoming paranoid by what they see and should be concerned. “Why would Albemarle County need 154 rifles? They don’t have that many policemen,” he said. “What do they need them for?”
Whitehead recently wrote a book on the topic, titled “A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State.” “It’s very dangerous stuff going on and I think there needs to be oversight,” he said.
Police have taken steps to demilitarize their weapons. Both Charlottesville and Albemarle police have modified their M-16/A1s, changing them from fully automatic to semi-automatic.
“We really didn’t see a need to have fully automatic weapons in an urban environment,” said Longo.
But when crisis does strike, area law enforcement are confident they are armed with the necessary tools to protect and serve.
Albemarle County is in the process of returning some of the rifles; Charlottesville says it will keep theirs for now.
Both departments also acknowledge the equipment received through the program only makes up a small percentage of what they actually have on hand in terms of weapons and equipment.
