PRESIDENT Barack Obama is cutting back on shipments of military equipment to local police forces, nine months after multiple complaints about officers using riot gear and armored vehicles to confront protestors after the events in Ferguson, Mo.
Obama’s new policies countering the “militarization” of local law enforcement will ban the Pentagon and other federal agencies from providing police with certain military-style equipment, such as grenade launchers. Other types of military gear will only be sent to local departments under new, stricter guidelines.
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. A tightly-controlled system will be put in place, and the White House is already exploring ways to recall prohibited equipment it’s already distributed.
Police will have to get approval from their city council, mayor or some other local governing body to obtain militarized equipment, and must provide a persuasive explanation of why it is needed.
The surprise announcement comes after the White House cited public safety issues in suggesting last year that Obama would maintain programs that provide military-style equipment like that used to respond to racially-charged demonstrations, such as in Ferguson.
An interagency group found “substantial risk of misusing or overusing” items like tracked armored vehicles, riot gear, high-powered firearms and camouflage uniforms, and said that could greatly undermine public trust in law enforcement.
A report from the 21st Century Policing task force has a long list of recommendations to improve public trust, particularly better transparency about interactions with the public. The White House said 21 police agencies nationwide, including Camden, NJ, have agreed to start putting out never-before released data on citizen interactions like the use of force, stops, citations and officer-involved shootings. An online toolkit will also be launched to encourage the use of body cameras to record police interactions with the public. The Justice Department is also giving $163 million in grants to incentivize police departments to adopt the report’s recommendations.
“This [report] could be a key transformational document in rebuilding the trust that has been destroyed in recent years between police and minority communities,” said Ron Davis, director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services at the Justice Department.
With police under increased scrutiny over highly publicized deaths of black suspects nationwide, Obama is also unveiling the final report of a task force he created to help build confidence between police forces and minority communities.
“There’s a big difference between our military and our local law enforcement and we don’t want those lines blurred,” Obama said.
The President also visited Camden police headquarters on Monday, May 18 to commend the way officers have improved their relationship with a poor community struggling with violence. He watched live video feeds of city neighborhoods being monitored by officers at the Real-Time Tactical Operational Intelligence Center.
“I’ll 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’ve sworn to serve and protect,” the President said in his weekly radio address.
He also stopped briefly in Philadelphia to praise its police and fire officials for their quick response to the deadly Amtrak train wreck last week. (With reports from Associated Press)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek May 20-22, 2015 Sec. A pg.5)
