Yea, I’m sure they really want to get rid of it. Tell me another one.
Mother Jones – by Molly Redden
An officer with the Chelan County Sheriff’s Department in central Washington is offering me a tank. Three of them, actually.
“We really want to get rid of these,” Undersheriff John Wisemore says. “We’ve been trying to get the military to take them back since 2004.”
The tanks came from a vast Defense Department grant program that has furnished American police arsenals, at no charge, with $4.3 billion worth of combat equipment leftover from two foreign wars. The tanks are amphibious, capable of firing 107-mm mortars—and not remotely useful to Wisemore’s rural police department. But the county can’t seem to unload them. Back in June, Wisemore got an email from a Defense Department liaison promising to explain how Chelan County can get rid of the tanks. Then, nothing. Until further notice, Wisemore says, “they’re just going to sit there.”
In the past eight years, the Pentagon grant program has loaned local law enforcement some 200,000 ammunition magazines, 94,000 machine guns, and thousands of armored vehicles, aircraft, land mine detectors, silencers, and grenade launchers—all at the request of the local agencies themselves. But images of the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, of police in military gear cracking down on peaceful protesters, have turned many communities against a program critics say has eroded the line between police officers and soldiers. Recently, in response to the local outcry over aggressive policing tactics, San Jose, California’s police department announced plans to return its mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle (MRAP), and the Los Angeles school system police department has agreed to return its three grenade launchers.
Even before police militarization made the news, hundreds of police departments were finding that grenade launchers, military firearms, and armored vehicles aren’t very useful to community policing. When Chelan County police officers requested one armored car in 2000—the request that landed them three tanks—they pictured a vehicle that could withstand bullets, not land mines. Law enforcement agencies across the country have quietly returned more than 6,000 unwanted or unusable items to the Pentagon in the last 10 years, according to Defense Department data provided to Mother Jones by a spokeswoman for Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), who has spearheaded a Senate investigation of the Pentagon program that is arming local police. Thousands more unwanted items have been transferred to other police departments.
But some agencies have found the process of getting rid of unwanted military gear next to impossible. Agencies can’t return or trade equipment without Defense Department approval, and because the Pentagon technically still owns the equipment, they can’t sell it.
According to interviews with state officials running point between the Pentagon and police, the Defense Department prefers to leave equipment in circulation whenever possible. “It’s a low-cost storage method for them,” says Robb Davis, the mayor pro tem of Davis. His town is trying to shake its MRAP. “They’re dumping these vehicles on us and saying, ‘Hey, these are still ours, but you have to maintain them for us.'”
Police departments, in most cases, bear the costs of shipping the equipment to its new home. Making things more difficult, as the Defense Department reevaluates the program this fall, the agency temporarily closed the portion of its website that allows police departments to request returns. (The website will reopen on October 1.) The decision has prevented the San Diego school district police department from returning an 18-ton MRAP the department received in April, says Ursula Kroener, a police spokeswoman. In fact, Kroener adds, the Pentagon halted returns partly because so many law enforcement agencies are clamoring to return their equipment. Neither the California point person for the Pentagon grant program nor the Defense Logistics Agency, the division within the Pentagon that oversees the grant program, responded to requests for comments on the site closure.
A Defense Logistics Agency spokeswoman says that law enforcement agencies are free to return equipment as long as they complete the right paperwork. She adds that certain pieces of equipment, such as night vision goggles, require extra certification to return. As examples of what might cause the Defense Department to reject a return, she lists only two: incorrect paperwork, and lack of that extra certification.
In reality, however, police departments may find the returns process slow, mystifying, or nonfunctional. Online law enforcement message boards brim with complaints that the Pentagon refuses to take back unwanted guns and vehicles—like this one, about a pair of M14 rifles that have survived attempts by two sheriffs to get rid of them.
“The federal government is just not interested in getting this stuff back,” says Davis Trimmer, a lieutenant with the Hillsborough, North Carolina, police department. Local law enforcement officials and Pentagon liaisons interviewed by Mother Jones all agree that the Defense Department always prefers to keep working equipment in circulation over warehousing it. Trimmer has twice requested permission to return three M14 rifles that are too heavy for practical use. But the North Carolina point person for the Pentagon insists that Hillsborough can’t get rid of the firearms until another police department volunteers to take them. Police in Woodfin, North Carolina, are facing the same problem as they try to return the town’s grenade launcher.
“The federal government is just not interested in getting this stuff back.”
In fact, the first move for state liaisons when a police department wants to dump its military equipment is to alert the rest of the state’s police force that the item is up for grabs. This poses a moral dilemma for communities that are getting rid of their weapons and armored vehicle out of protest: ditching your MRAP just makes it another town’s problem.
“I have a lot of discomfort about that,” Davis says. “A lot.” Jarred by the clashes in Ferguson, the Davis city council voted in late August to come up with plans for getting rid of the city’s newly acquired MRAP—which arrived with the machine gun turret still attached.
But officials in Davis are finding that the cheapest way to unload the armored vehicle may be to ship it to a police department in a neighboring town. At best, says Davis, the Defense Department will ask the city to ship the vehicle to a police department out of state. “The bottom line is, if we send it back, we know what will happen to it. It will go on to be used in another community,” Davis says. “In the broader scheme of things, we will not have done anything but make a symbolic gesture.” At least two law enforcement agencies, both located in Northern California, have already expressed interest in the MRAP.
The Pentagon’s policy, of keeping military surplus equipment in circulation, is how Saginaw County, Michigan’s mine-resistant vehicle became Lapeer County’s mine-resistant vehicle—that’s the county right next door. In fact, when word got out that Saginaw County wanted to get rid of its MRAP—after John Oliver made fun of Saginaw on his HBO show, Last Week Tonight—Sheriff William Federspiel received a flood of calls from other police departments, asking, “Hey, can we have it?”
The spokeswoman for the San Diego school district doesn’t know who previously possessed its MRAP, but she says the vehicle arrived from Texas stripped of its gun turrets and interior instruments—signs that it had been modified for police use by the last owner. When Steuben County, in rural New York, no longer wanted two armored vehicles, it sent one to the nearby Broome County Sheriff’s Department and one to the village of Endicott. And the tanks that Chelan County, Washington, wants so badly to get rid of came from the police department in Vancouver.
Where the tanks will go next is anyone’s guess.
“We’ve put it out there that we don’t want these anymore,” says Wisemore, the undersheriff. “But I don’t think any other agency is interested in them.” He pauses. “Are you?”
If you need my address let me know, I’ll take one of each
Haha! Same here.
Hmmmm. This sounds similar to the Joo owned and run scam where even when someone pays in full for a brand new car, truck, home, the title gets sent to the State who then supposedly own it. Of course most people aren’t aware of this ‘title transfer’. You can bet the owners of the car dealerships know. Like those people we call ‘judges’ who are truly only administrators in their job description, Know that they are involved in a criminal scam/fraud, Rico action. How many of the people, oops I meant sheeple who get sheered everyday know that a percentage of every dollar in fines, goes into that judges retirement fund? Can you say conflict of interest. Can you say that ‘the lady justice’ is a whore, in their system? Like the vampire/parasite that it is, like the scorpion parable, well, too bad, so sad. That is the nature of this ‘beast’ system. It has no morals, compassion or ethics except those that are satanic. Hmmm. Sounds like the Zionist Joos. I don’t address these ‘judges’ as your honor when I’ve had the misfortune to be around them. To call them low lifes gives low lifes a bad name. I guess if it weren’t for the masses of those on some type of Joo gov’t welfare (which is massive these days) and the rest who are hiding in fear, this bs would have been revolted against and these criminals would have been dealt with already. Although the main stream media is a tool to deceive and distract everybody, again owned and run by the Joos, in other countries where these joos have been doing what they’ve been doing, the peoples in those countries pour out in masses. Most if not all of these countries were disarmed first. Like Australia,Canada, great Britain as examples. Now, after being disarmed and then victimized by the mercenaries and other peoples who don’t have our Morales or ethics who the Joos bring in are speaking out. But, as the saying goes, their bark is worse than their bite. Why? Because, they let themselves be disarmed which = you can’t defend yourself with equal force. That will never happen here! Not without a fight. But, we must know the race of people causing this. Why in hell are these ‘leaders’ who are charged with managing the well being of our countries border securities, over the financial well being of the people whom it purports to take care of sending billions upon billions upon billions of FRN’s to other peoples nations etc. when we here, could use a helping financial gift? Not including illegal aliens who are purportedly being given $250 a day. One Billion dollars is 1000 million dollars. And this amount is being given out in multiples daily. So, what if, according to the somewhat estimated population here of 400 thousand. And that’s probably men woman a children. But let’s say 1-2 million spendable dollars were doled out to each family to revive our economy. What would result end up looking like? People can only buy so many Tv’s cars, etc. Many of us would start businesses here and be able to pay people to rebuild what has been stolen and dismantled. But this makes way too much sense doesn’t it? Not because it doesn’t make sense. But because, through the media, the schools, the politicians, the courts, the police, sheriffs, and all of the Alphabet agencies, and of course, the thousands of churches, everything is the will of god or we’ve elected these people to run everything for our benefit. Right?!!! How’s that working out? More and more we’re being informed that these supposed leaders are criminals, pedophiles, liars, scammers, con men par excellence. As we know con men are worthless unless you think that being a convincing liar has much worth. These people have no conscience except do as thy wilt.It seems too much for me to think that a majority will wake up and overwhelm them, so I guess it will be up to us to put this rabid dog down. Old Yeller. How appropriate! He was a good dog until he turned rabid. Then there is only one right action! Like our Constitution which is beloved and well designed to protect our lives against a rabies like infection where those given a job to protect us goes mad and must then be put down, so it is today. As a young boy, I remember crying that the dog had to be put down. Because that dog was a dear friend of that family. A protector of sorts. But, in that movie, once the dog contracted rabies, they knew that the dog could and most probably would attack it’s own. It couldn’t be trusted anymore.But was also a lethal danger afterwards. Only one solution which was simple. A bullet to the head. Point is that it was the right thing, the smart thing to do! In todays propaganda media, we would be told that Ole Yeller had the right to live. That society to be righteous and ‘loving’ need to allow that dog to live and to spend money to build a padded cell for him. Hmmm, this sounds like what these compassionate people have done with the murderers, rapists, satanists, today! One way or another you can tie their activities to what he Checklist and Bolshevists did. This is what the Joos are doing in gaza. They are liars who tell lies who are offspring of their father satan who is the father of lies.
lol @ “checklist.” —say what?
I’m pretty sure he meant Chekist. Decent rant none the less.
“unless you think that being a convincing liar has much worth”
It must have had a lot of worth to Obumer, it’s what got him elected. It’s what keeps most congressional lifers in congress.
These depts must not only pay to ship the equipment but they then need to hire technicians to keep it operating.
Our local paper just did a “story” on the local police and counties equipment. It turns out the local cops dont want these because while “free” it cost upwards of $5000 to ship and then $100000-$287000/year to maintain up to 4 units and they dont own it so they are required to comply with feds. They can buy a used armored truck(brinks) for under $50000 and it requires no special training or maintenance personnel. Plus they own it and are not required to respond with it whenever the feds call.
Look these asshats got caught trying to park dozens of these all over the country but reporters and bloggers started reporting about military equipment build ups being made ready for martial law. Then they give them out and spread them out. This makes it look more “useful” than impending.
Watch, next they will be outfitting the cops with all those coffins. you know…
for emergencies.
Okay…so police departments want to get rid of the tanks, MRAPs, yadda yadda yadda just because they are too expensive to maintain, not because these things turn cops into psychopaths, not because these things turn this country into a totalitarian police state, and not because these things being used against us violates the Rule of Law… Well, since police departments only want to hire psychos and low grade morons, maybe these idiots and thugs will accidentally shoot themselves in the foot (or maybe, the testicles) with this stuff… To all freedom-minded young folks who believe in being clandestine–join the police forces now, learn how to use this stuff to turn onto the oppressors (can Jamie Dimon’s mansion withstand an MRAP?), but upon joining the cops pretend you are a narcissist on your psych eval and pretend you are a moron on your written test, if necessary… 😉
good advise.
lol
Iv known some ‘good’ people who joined the police and they all are c^cks*ckers now. EVERYONE of them. They start with only hanging out with cops. then they say “YOU just dont get it. Being a cop is hard and only other cops understand”. Then they cheat on their wife/husband with another LEO.
I think sucking satans testicles is part of the indoctrination process.