Police Departments Nationwide Forced To Give Back Grenade Launchers, Bayonets and Tanks

Counter Current News

President Barack Obama recently moved to ban police departments from receiving a range of “military style” weapons and equipment.

The ban effects weapons like grenade launchers and bayonets and a variety of armored vehicles.

Apparently still kosher are the now commonplace assault rifles that nearly all police departments now equip their officers with.  

The White House just made the announcement in May. But the caveat in the announcement was the key word “some.” Washington will no longer provide police departments with “some military style weapons, equipment, vehicles and gear. But that “some” leaves a lot to be desired when it gives departments a free pass on military style assault weapons.

All of this comes as President Obama heads to Camden, New Jersey this Monday afternoon in a meeting between youth groups and law enforcement officials.

But many critical of police brutality are saying this is all a meaningless show to make it look like the federal government is doing something to stop the onslaught from unchecked, brutal police officers across the nation.

A case in point, the White House initially defended the militarization of police departments, even amidst the abuses that took place in Ferguson. More recently, however, the administration said that military outfitting of departments represented a “substantial risk of misusing or overusing” these items and “undermine trust” in the police by members of the community.

The Associated Press said that the White House announced that “effective immediately, the federal government will no longer fund or provide armored vehicles that run on a tracked system instead of wheels, weaponized aircraft or vehicles, firearms or ammunition of .50-caliber or higher, grenade launchers, bayonets or camouflage uniforms. The federal government also is exploring ways to recall prohibited equipment already distributed.”

Community activists from the police accountability organization CopBlock told us this is simply “too little, too late.”

The president added, however, that he plans to “highlight steps all cities can take to maintain trust between the brave law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line, and the communities they’re sworn to serve and protect.”

There are other items on the new list of items the White House is preventing for transfer to departments, including “wheeled armored vehicles” such as “Humvees, manned aircraft, drones, specialized firearms, explosives, battering rams and riot batons, helmets and shields.”

The Free Thought Project writes:

Over the past decade, police departments have been using the 1033 program to acquire these weapons of war. The feds provided surplus military hardware to local police to fight a seeming war against its own citizens. These actions went unchecked and very little government, or public oversight existed.

Then when the events that took place in Ferguson beamed across the globe, the militarized U.S. police state revealed it’s ugly face to the world.

The images of the militarized police in Ferguson made clear that the days of Andy Griffith and Mayberry are a distant memory. They have been replaced by something that looks as if it belongs on a war-torn battlefield in Afghanistan or Iraq.

But there is still a loophole the White House left, and almost seemed to neglect to mention. You see, starting in October, police will still be able to get this sort of gear. They will just have to get approval from their city council, mayor or some other local governing body in order to initiate the transfer.

Last Thursday, police departments across the country were finally sent a memorandum, referencing Recommendation 1.1 to EP 13688, which outlines the order to send back the military gear. That memo set a deadline for departments to return prohibited military equipment, listed by TFTP below:

• Tracked Armored Vehicles:  Vehicles that provide ballistic protection to their occupants and utilize a tracked system instead of wheels for forward motion.
• Weaponized Aircraft, Vessels, and Vehicles of Any Kind:  These items will be prohibited from purchase or transfer with weapons installed.
• Firearms of .50‐Caliber or Higher
• Ammunition of .50‐Caliber or Higher
• Grenade Launchers:    Firearm or firearm accessory designed to launch small explosive projectiles.
• Bayonets:  Large knives designed to be attached to the muzzle of a rifle/shotgun/long gun for the purposes of hand‐to‐hand combat.
• Camouflage Uniforms:    Does not include woodland or desert patterns or solid color uniforms.

The memo includes the following:

1. Tracked Armored Vehicles
2. M-79 Grenade Launchers
3. Bayonets

Not listed are .50 caliber long range sniper rifles, camouflage, and weaponized aircraft – none of which have any place in community policing.

Pay close attention to these details when the mainstream media loses their minds praising this move as somehow the solution to police brutality and militarization. From the looks of it, this will change nothing other than the amount of paperwork departments will have to do.

…at least that will be good busy work for all of the officers who have recently been assigned to desk duty, after shooting unarmed citizens.

(Article by M. David and Jackson Marciana)

http://countercurrentnews.com/2015/10/dod-orders-police-nationwide/