Police say military equipment is necessary to protect

WHDH 7 News – by Cheryl Fiandaca

REVERE, Mass. (WHDH) – For days there have been military type vehicles in Ferguson, Missouri where law enforcement agents have been using them to try to keep the peace, but is that doing more harm than good?

There are now calls to look into the so-called militarization of police.

Many police departments across Massachusetts have surplus military equipment in their arsenal.  

You might think you’d only see grenade launchers in combat, but West Springfield police have two of them.

In Rehoboth police have what’s called an MRAP, mine resistant ambush protected, tank.

“That would only be used for SWAT or God forbid, an active shooter situation. It has bulletproof glass,” Rehoboth Police Lt. Michael Brady said.

This is just some of the surplus military equipment local police departments are getting free from the federal government.

“The idea of looking out your window and seeing an armored vehicle rolling down the street, that’s a reality. We’re seeing it in Ferguson, we know that’s happening nationwide. Those same things are happening here in Massachusetts,” Jessie Rossman, an attorney for the ACLU, said.

During the manhunt for the suspected Boston Marathon bombers the Metro North SWAT had their military surplus armored Humvee out in Watertown.

Revere Police Chief Joe Carafelli is in charge of SWAT and says his city, like Rehoboth, has received quite a bit surplus equipment from the government.

“We have rescue immersion suits, there’s a boat we have stored. We have upward of 80 pair of black leather boots,” Carafelli said.

Most police departments just pay for shipping. So far nationwide more than 600 MRAPs are now in the hands of police along with Humvees, machine guns, camouflage even helicopters and planes.

“This isn’t a war zone. Police officers aren’t’ soldiers, they take an oath to serve and protect their community. You’re not doing that when you’re treating everyone within your community either as an insurgent or an informant,” Rossman said.

Police insist they’re facing well-armed criminals; from the marathon bombing suspects to shooters at schools, shopping malls and movie theaters.

“If all I had to do was lock up the town drunk I could keep my bullet in my pocket and not have to worry about it. But unfortunately that’s not the world we live in anymore. We have very serious criminals in the street. I’m duty-bound to protect the rest of the population that pays me,” Carafelli said.

The Massachusetts State Police keep a list of all military equipment held by police departments in the state and the US government requires communities to return all equipment they no longer use or need.

http://www.whdh.com/story/26341782/local-police-say-military-equipment-is-necessary-to-protect

Deb

10 thoughts on “Police say military equipment is necessary to protect

  1. The use of all these war machines is way unneeded and the gas ..The people have the right too demostrate ..Will some one wake up..The other part is sad the burning of stores..But use all this did not make it right on eather side..Our state leaders did nothing to stop it or correct it with out the war machines..So who care whos wrong or right your all wrong..

  2. Have you any idea what it cost in maintain’s just to have one of those set out front in your yard and keep active? Around 90cents a mile just to drive one slow in a parade. Were does this money come from for the free well used and abused junk car the police have setting on public propert in storage? They often cost close to 1/2 million just to refurbish be fore usable. O Well the tax payer will pay and pay for them. 1 to hope they set and rust away and more when they knock on the wrong door with one and drive threw the wrong house in them.

    1. Mr Truth you just nailed it,that is exactly what the military hardware is all about to protect the treasonous pigs running this agenda down all of our throats.It has absolutely not one thing to do with the safety of the citizens and everything to do with stifling dissent! Free speech in this country is dead and the free speech zones prove it.What do you think the founding fathers would tell the treasonous pigs to do with their free speech zones?

  3. Obama has purged the military of those that won’t shoot upon Americans. He has transported his personal thugs to all corners of the country awaiting orders having already been well paid. Social unrest at the snap of his finger, Obama believes he can conquer a nation with illusion. Set a bomb off here and CNN is, many times, the first blue fly to land on that corpse. Need a distraction, shoot another black man and fly Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson in the stir up the big crock of shit. Meanwhile, the banksters continue laughing at us “all the way to the bank.”

    1. Hey Millard, don’t forget! Need a disease, have an illegal immigrant enter and then fly in a bunch of pro-amnesty government supporters to make sure that the invader, I mean “refugee”, gets to stay and be treated humanely without having anyone quarantine the invader nor cure the disease, while making sure the invader spreads that disease throughout the entire population, all paid for by the taxpayers. 😉

      1. NC, remember that scene in “Blazing Saddles” when Headley Lamar was signing up all the bad guys to attack Rock Ridge. That’s what I imagine the sign up sheet at the border would be like with all the murderers and drug mules passing through.

Join the Conversation

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


*