Post by Origanalist on Aug 25, 2014 7:56:17 GMT -8
Guns, armor and a grenade launcher: Do N.J. cops need weapons of war?
By Ted Sherman & Carla Astudillo
on August 24, 2014 at 12:04 AM, updated August 24, 2014 at 1:50 AM
In the parking lot of Middletown police headquarters sits a 14-ton armored fighting vehicle designed to withstand roadside improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan.
Jersey City police have the firepower of an army, with an inventory of 155 surplus M16 military assault rifles, able to spit out hundreds of rounds a minute.
And the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office has a grenade launcher.
Over the past two decades, law enforcement agencies in New Jersey have acquired surplus military gear worth $32.8 million — including hundreds of automatic rifles, night vision scopes, laser range finders, combat knives, armored trucks, three helicopters and the grenade launcher — all free of charge.
The equipment, made available under a congressionally mandated program set up in the 1990s in response to concerns that local police departments were being outgunned amid a growing plague of violent crime, went to communities across the state, from the city of Newark to the quiet bay town of Barnegat. The program has accelerated with the wind down of the nation’s involvement in the Middle East, bringing a flood of unneeded war material back from the battlefields and onto the streets of communities large and small.
But the federal program — which, since its inception, has funneled $5.1 billion worth of hardware and supplies to more than 8,000 departments across the country — has come into sharp focus since the events in Ferguson, Mo. In the wake of the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen by a white police officer on Aug. 9, images of demonstrators clashing with police clad in black tactical armor, carrying Army assault weapons and riding the streets atop hulking armored trucks like the one parked in Middletown have captured national attention.
At issue is the militarization of police, and questions have arisen over whether it is appropriate for civilian law enforcement agencies to be deploying weapons of war on the streets of the United States.
Yesterday, White House officials said President Obama plans a comprehensive examination of the program in the wake of the unrest in Ferguson.
"I think it’s probably useful for us to review how the funding has gone, how local law enforcement has used grant dollars, to make sure that what they’re purchasing is stuff that they actually need," the president said Monday.
Rear Adm. John Kirby, at a Pentagon briefing last Tuesday, said it has always been up to local law enforcement to determine how, when and where they use excess military equipment, but added that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has been looking into the program as well.
FROM CAMERAS TO M16s
According to an analysis of Defense Logistics Agency transfers to New Jersey, surplus military items ranging from office equipment, sleeping bags, computers, digital cameras and clothing to aircraft, vehicles and weapons meant for a battlefield have been shipped to departments across the state.
The program, administered in New Jersey under the state’s Office of Emergency Management, saw the transfer of $21 million in excess Defense Department material in the current fiscal year, which ended Aug. 19.
Among the gear currently held by state law enforcement agencies are 529 military-issue M16 assault rifles that went to 15 counties; 365 M14s, a rifle still used by Navy SEAL teams, sent to 17 New Jersey counties; night vision goggles and range finders able to find targets in the dark; dozens of Army Humvees and armored trucks; five bomb disposal robots; and a $412,000 mine-resistant, ambush-protected armored vehicle, known as an MRAP, meant for war zone patrols.
The equipment was all provided "as is," but departments are responsible for transporting and maintaining it.
The American Civil Liberties Union said military-grade weapons do not belong in the hands of local police.
"We’re building a culture in our local sheriff police departments of a warrior mentality," said Ari Rosmarin, public policy director of ACLU of New Jersey. "The more police officers see themselves as warriors, the more they’ll begin seeing members of the communities as the enemy."
Calling the tools and tactics of the military "almost always inappropriate" for domestic police work, he said the militarization of police work does little to build trust in the communities.
"We don’t minimize the dangers of modern policing. It’s a dangerous job and one that puts officers at risk, often," he said. But that does not "require military equipment and military vehicles."
Barnegat Township Administrator David Breeden, whose Ocean County community obtained four surplus Humvees through the program, said the debate ignores the realities communities struggle with in budgeting municipal services, and the dangers police face every day in fighting crime. "There needs to be a focus on the militarization of the ‘bad guys’ if we are to have an honest discussion of the subject," Breeden said.
He said many criminals have access to heavy-duty hardware and resources, which must be factored into the equation when determining how to properly equip police officers.
"When people need help, all they want is an immediate response, capable of addressing their needs, and this federal program greatly enhances the ability of local government to adequately respond to law enforcement and emergency management situations," he said.
PARK FULL OF HUMVEES
Yet for Barnegat resident James D’Arienzo, the fleet of Humvees stored on the grounds of an old skateboard park looks out of place in town.
"It seems very silly. This was supposed to be a skate park and now it’s holding military vehicles," said the father of three. "I have no desire to take any equipment away from the police, but I feel bad for the kids. It’s just an eyesore, and it looks like we’re living in North Korea. There is no need for any of these vehicles."
Barnegat Police Chief Arthur Drexler said Hurricane Sandy vividly demonstrated the need for big, multiterrain vehicles like the Humvees, able to get through heavily flooded sections of town.
"We’re not using ours for any kinds of tactical duty at all. They are to get into areas we can’t reach," he said. "And they were free. Economics are tough right now. We would never have been able to get vehicles like these on our own."
The Humvees are at the former skateboard park because another secure location could not be found for them, the chief said.
continued at...www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/08/guns_armor_and_a_grenade_launcher_militarization_of_police_in_nj.html
By Ted Sherman & Carla Astudillo
on August 24, 2014 at 12:04 AM, updated August 24, 2014 at 1:50 AM
In the parking lot of Middletown police headquarters sits a 14-ton armored fighting vehicle designed to withstand roadside improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan.
Jersey City police have the firepower of an army, with an inventory of 155 surplus M16 military assault rifles, able to spit out hundreds of rounds a minute.
And the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office has a grenade launcher.
Over the past two decades, law enforcement agencies in New Jersey have acquired surplus military gear worth $32.8 million — including hundreds of automatic rifles, night vision scopes, laser range finders, combat knives, armored trucks, three helicopters and the grenade launcher — all free of charge.
The equipment, made available under a congressionally mandated program set up in the 1990s in response to concerns that local police departments were being outgunned amid a growing plague of violent crime, went to communities across the state, from the city of Newark to the quiet bay town of Barnegat. The program has accelerated with the wind down of the nation’s involvement in the Middle East, bringing a flood of unneeded war material back from the battlefields and onto the streets of communities large and small.
But the federal program — which, since its inception, has funneled $5.1 billion worth of hardware and supplies to more than 8,000 departments across the country — has come into sharp focus since the events in Ferguson, Mo. In the wake of the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen by a white police officer on Aug. 9, images of demonstrators clashing with police clad in black tactical armor, carrying Army assault weapons and riding the streets atop hulking armored trucks like the one parked in Middletown have captured national attention.
At issue is the militarization of police, and questions have arisen over whether it is appropriate for civilian law enforcement agencies to be deploying weapons of war on the streets of the United States.
Yesterday, White House officials said President Obama plans a comprehensive examination of the program in the wake of the unrest in Ferguson.
"I think it’s probably useful for us to review how the funding has gone, how local law enforcement has used grant dollars, to make sure that what they’re purchasing is stuff that they actually need," the president said Monday.
Rear Adm. John Kirby, at a Pentagon briefing last Tuesday, said it has always been up to local law enforcement to determine how, when and where they use excess military equipment, but added that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has been looking into the program as well.
FROM CAMERAS TO M16s
According to an analysis of Defense Logistics Agency transfers to New Jersey, surplus military items ranging from office equipment, sleeping bags, computers, digital cameras and clothing to aircraft, vehicles and weapons meant for a battlefield have been shipped to departments across the state.
The program, administered in New Jersey under the state’s Office of Emergency Management, saw the transfer of $21 million in excess Defense Department material in the current fiscal year, which ended Aug. 19.
Among the gear currently held by state law enforcement agencies are 529 military-issue M16 assault rifles that went to 15 counties; 365 M14s, a rifle still used by Navy SEAL teams, sent to 17 New Jersey counties; night vision goggles and range finders able to find targets in the dark; dozens of Army Humvees and armored trucks; five bomb disposal robots; and a $412,000 mine-resistant, ambush-protected armored vehicle, known as an MRAP, meant for war zone patrols.
The equipment was all provided "as is," but departments are responsible for transporting and maintaining it.
The American Civil Liberties Union said military-grade weapons do not belong in the hands of local police.
"We’re building a culture in our local sheriff police departments of a warrior mentality," said Ari Rosmarin, public policy director of ACLU of New Jersey. "The more police officers see themselves as warriors, the more they’ll begin seeing members of the communities as the enemy."
Calling the tools and tactics of the military "almost always inappropriate" for domestic police work, he said the militarization of police work does little to build trust in the communities.
"We don’t minimize the dangers of modern policing. It’s a dangerous job and one that puts officers at risk, often," he said. But that does not "require military equipment and military vehicles."
Barnegat Township Administrator David Breeden, whose Ocean County community obtained four surplus Humvees through the program, said the debate ignores the realities communities struggle with in budgeting municipal services, and the dangers police face every day in fighting crime. "There needs to be a focus on the militarization of the ‘bad guys’ if we are to have an honest discussion of the subject," Breeden said.
He said many criminals have access to heavy-duty hardware and resources, which must be factored into the equation when determining how to properly equip police officers.
"When people need help, all they want is an immediate response, capable of addressing their needs, and this federal program greatly enhances the ability of local government to adequately respond to law enforcement and emergency management situations," he said.
PARK FULL OF HUMVEES
Yet for Barnegat resident James D’Arienzo, the fleet of Humvees stored on the grounds of an old skateboard park looks out of place in town.
"It seems very silly. This was supposed to be a skate park and now it’s holding military vehicles," said the father of three. "I have no desire to take any equipment away from the police, but I feel bad for the kids. It’s just an eyesore, and it looks like we’re living in North Korea. There is no need for any of these vehicles."
Barnegat Police Chief Arthur Drexler said Hurricane Sandy vividly demonstrated the need for big, multiterrain vehicles like the Humvees, able to get through heavily flooded sections of town.
"We’re not using ours for any kinds of tactical duty at all. They are to get into areas we can’t reach," he said. "And they were free. Economics are tough right now. We would never have been able to get vehicles like these on our own."
The Humvees are at the former skateboard park because another secure location could not be found for them, the chief said.
continued at...www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/08/guns_armor_and_a_grenade_launcher_militarization_of_police_in_nj.html