Quote:
Originally Posted by Driver 47
Frankly, I'd like to see them give up their armored vehicles, grenades and machine guns. You really want those "weapons of war" potentially (or accidently as collateral damage) used against citizens ? Given the lack of marksmanship some local police have I flat out do not trust them. I've seen no less than three departments banned from gun clubs because of bullet holes in clubhouse or firing range walls or roofs.  |
Supplied by the Obama admin...
Nov. 2014 -
How the Obama administration gives away military-grade weapons to local police
Several federal programs are helping local law enforcement to acquire heavy weapons, either by making funds available or by providing the equipment directly. One program at the Pentagon transferred surplus military equipment worth nearly half a billion dollars to local police last year. Grants provided by the Department of Homeland Security total another $1 billion, and Holder's department provides hundreds of millions more.
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The ACLU has called for a moratorium on the Pentagon's program, which transfers surplus military equipment, arguing that the Pentagon should not provide local police with armored personnel carriers or automatic weapons.
The goal is ultimately the same as it is now - a federally controlled local police force. Back then, they looked to give them a bunch of money with big expensive toys in exchange for compliance with federal mandates.
Today, it's defund, create a crisis, and replace. But the goal is the same - a federal controlled force that polices local areas.
From the WaPo article... this was the plan back then. Give money, control behavior.
The administration could, for example, mandate that any department receiving federal support equip its officers with body cameras.
Another approach would be to require departments to provide data showing that their officers do not discriminate by race in stopping drivers. Missouri's attorney general issued a report last year finding that Ferguson's police officers were twice as likely to arrest black drivers as white drivers during traffic stops. Departments with wide racial disparities in enforcement would not be eligible for federal money.
Alternatively, the federal government could require police officers to undergo training in how to deescalate violent altercations with people of other races, or people who are mentally ill, without using lethal force.
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"Money is a powerful incentive for change in this country, and always has been," said the NAACP's Ifill. "We're suggesting it's time we applied that to law enforcement grants."
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