Tag: 1033 Program

The 12 Days of Police Militarization: What did they Really Get?

Guest Post by Richard Moyer from Shades of Thomas Paine

 

The Pentagon’s hand-me-down program, which places old military hardware into the eager hands of police departments across the country, runs the gamut from frightening to bizarre. The so-called 1033 program’s complete list (available for download below) reads like a Steven Seagal version of the 12 days of Christmas, and so without so much as two turtle doves… SoTP brings you the 12 days of police militarization.

 

1 Practice Antipersonnel Mine

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Stark County, Ohio caught my eye with a practice antipersonnel mine. I was glad to see that it wasn’t a real anti-personnel mine. Though, if they ever did get real ones, we could rest assured that they had plenty of practice.

 

205 Grenade Launchers

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For special occasions.

 

344 MRAPs

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Scattered across the country in nearly every state (Delaware notably absent), these soldier-taxis-gone-bad have become emblematic of the 1033 program. Remarkably, St. Lucie county is home to no fewer than five of these Tonka-Tanks, more than legitimately scary places like Miami-Dade, or East Baton Rouge.

 

403 Helicopters

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This whole list inadvertently became scenes from Arnold Schwarzenegger movies.

 

50 Nuclear Ordnance Boxes

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Lee County, Georgia needed something to put their nukes in.

 

6 Drum sets

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Including a Ludwig…John Bonham would be proud. One might ask why the military needed them, and then ask again, why do the police need them?

 

79000 5.56mm Rifles

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Your neighborhood operator might call this a “black rifle”, or if he were feeling especially randy, “the black rifle”, as the M-16 is occasionally referred to (usually by forum ninjas). Not much to say, except that it is an awful lot of rifles.

 

8 Mechanical Fingers

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Don’t know what they are, but Saint Clair, Michigan’s got ’em.

 

91000 feet of Electrical Wire.

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Ventura County, California must have some big plans, because they’ve got 16 miles of electrical wire, courtesy of the US taxpayer.

 

1000 pounds of nails

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Providence, Rhode Island is the proud owner of one thousand pounds of military surplus nails. Unfortunately, they did not get a nail gun to go with it, like Terrell County, Georgia (who didn’t get any nails).

 

11900 Bayonets

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Of which, for some reason, El Paso County, Texas needed 1987.

 

12 Cargo Parachutes

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You forgot about that movie? Walton County, Georgia didn’t.

 

And, should you wish to peruse the staggering list for gems like these, it is available for download here.

1033 PROGRAM – IT’S FOR THE CHILRUN

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

By Henry Graff
June 13, 2014

From NBC 29

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.