http://watchdog.org/149743/grenade-launc...mn-police/

Quote:Old tanks, jeeps, artillery and other military leftovers used to end up in city parks.

Now, hardware from the Iraq and Afghan wars often winds up in the hands of police and other law enforcement agencies — items from “paperclips to airplanes” at essentially no cost, courtesy of the Law Enforcement Support Office of the Department of Defense.

A state Department of Public Safety briefing video for law enforcement ticks off the gear: ambulances, armored vehicles, helicopters, handcuffs, riot shields, cranes, fuel tankers, rifles, pickups, holsters, bayonets and grenade launchers.

All this is available for potential procurement, provided local authorities demonstrate a direct application to their mission.

“Any type of thing that you can think of that can help support the process of law enforcement here in the state of Minnesota,” Kim Ketterhagen, an official with the Minnesota Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, says in the 2013 video. “… So, please reach out to us and obtain this equipment. It’s there for the asking.”
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Have any of you noticed police officers wearing camouflage?

I am seeing more a more off duty cops directing traffic at churches wearing camo uniforms or SWAT unis with drop leg holtser gear. Just curious if any others have noticed this.

People act like this is a new thing, but it has been going on since the 1950's. Not sure what the program is called on the law enforcement side, but on the fire service side it's the Federal Excess Property Program (FEPP) and the Firefighter Property Program (FPP) and it provides thousands of vehicles to state and local fire agencies each year.

In college I volunteered with the local fire department and the local rescue squad and both departments utilized surplus military vehicles for response apparatus, and we often made trips down to the SC Forestry Commission HQ in Columbia to see what equipment was available. One time there was even a couple M113 Armored Personnel Carriers available. Numerous law enforcement agencies I know of have received former military helicopters and aircraft.

(06-18-2014 12:58 PM)South Carolina Duke Wrote:  Have any of you noticed police officers wearing camouflage?

I am seeing more a more off duty cops directing traffic at churches wearing camo uniforms or SWAT unis with drop leg holtser gear. Just curious if any others have noticed this.

Camouflaged peace officers are unacceptable in almost every single situation imaginable.

Unless you are tracking a killer through the woods there is zero place for camouflage within the law enforcement community. Personally, I think even black is a bit much and the police should suffice with dark blue. There is a huge physiological difference when police present in camo or black versus their more traditional uniforms. The police should rarely be intimidating to a citizen.

(06-18-2014 01:16 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  People act like this is a new thing, but it has been going on since the 1950's.

Not remotely comparable to today. "Protect and serve" has now become "search and destroy" with military gear.

Sounds like a good use of old equipment...

(06-18-2014 01:24 PM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  

(06-18-2014 01:16 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  People act like this is a new thing, but it has been going on since the 1950's.

Not remotely comparable to today. "Protect and serve" has now become "search and destroy" with military gear.

Except for the fact that it is.

(06-18-2014 01:16 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  People act like this is a new thing, but it has been going on since the 1950's. Not sure what the program is called on the law enforcement side, but on the fire service side it's the Federal Excess Property Program (FEPP) and the Firefighter Property Program (FPP) and it provides thousands of vehicles to state and local fire agencies each year.

In college I volunteered with the local fire department and the local rescue squad and both departments utilized surplus military vehicles for response apparatus, and we often made trips down to the SC Forestry Commission HQ in Columbia to see what equipment was available. One time there was even a couple M113 Armored Personnel Carriers available. Numerous law enforcement agencies I know of have received former military helicopters and aircraft.

This is so true. When I first started working as a fire fighter some of the equipment we had was so old that the sirens would only "scream" when the vehicle was moving. You know, like in the old movies where there was a cherry on the roof of an emergency vehicle.

(06-18-2014 12:58 PM)South Carolina Duke Wrote:  Have any of you noticed police officers wearing camouflage?

I am seeing more a more off duty cops directing traffic at churches wearing camo uniforms or SWAT unis with drop leg holtser gear. Just curious if any others have noticed this.

Yep.

I couldn't put my finger on it as to what exactly to Google, but the cops in Albuquerque that killed the homeless guy for no reason remind me of what I'm seeing more and more frequently.

It seems like the new uniform for a cop is blue jeans, a(n) OD/FDE-colored flak jacket, a baseball hat, sunglasses, and a M4 carbine.

Agreed with several above. This an extremely disturbing trend that too few are talking about

It's all part of a scam. The Feds give these police forces money and then have them buy ****. It has scam written all over it.

The Department of Defense's 1033 program, which Congress passed in 1997 to expand on a 1991 initiative, initially aimed to give surplus military equipment for police use in counter-narcotic and counter-terrorism situations.

Now, with the government giving away thousands of Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, weapons and more pedestrian items such as cars and clothing, even smaller police departments in cities and towns with low crime rates are acquiring items.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/natio.../10286485/