Sheriff Departments Across the U.S. Defending Defense Department Programs for the Militarization of Law Enforcement with Surplus Equipment

Weapons of war beefing up local police arsenals

'Police militarization' faces criticism, though Hampton Roads sheriffs, police officials defend defense department program to turn over surplus equipment to law enforcement. The Department of Defense’s Excess Property Program, commonly referred to as the 1033 Program, sends unneeded military equipment like weapons and body armor to local police forces for no cost.

September 28, 2014

Daily Press - A large armored vehicle that in recent years patrolled the battlefields of the Middle East now stands at the ready in York County.

Once used to help American troops avoid getting killed or maimed by roadside bombs, the imposing vehicle was turned over to the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office in May under a long-standing program to allow law enforcement agencies to use military surplus equipment.

It's among 620 Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles — also called "MRAPs" — recently doled out to cities and counties nationwide as wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have wound down. And they're free to local agencies, except for shipping costs.

Moreover, hundreds of military assault rifles — most of them M-16s — were sent to local police departments and sheriff's offices in Hampton Roads between 2006 and 2012, according to a recent Defense Department spreadsheet.

Hampton, Newport News, Gloucester, Isle of Wight and Poquoson have together received more than 300 such rifles, according to the Aug. 20 list from the Defense Logistics Agency.

The Hampton Police led the way with 115 rifles, though it's giving them back as it transitions to department-purchased AR-15s that are smaller, lighter and come with night sights, a police spokesman said.

Newport News obtained 85 rifles, including 75 M-16s, while James City County Police Department has gotten 67 rifles, with both agencies saying many of the guns were issued to tactical and patrol officers certified on the weapons.

One police agency in Isle of Wight got optical gun sights, as well as night vision and infrared equipment. Mathews obtained a system to conceal or scatter radar signatures. New Kent received a grenade launcher.

Both the City of Franklin, population 8,600, and Virginia Beach got MRAPs like the one that went to York, while several agencies obtained various trucks.

But now, the surplus transfer program is under increasing scrutiny from the White House and congressional lawmakers. That follows recent events in Ferguson, Mo., where police outfitted with military-style gear — using armored vehicles, tear gas and smoke bombs — responded to gatherers protesting a fatal police shooting in August.

One recent bill, sponsored by a Georgia congressman and co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, D-Newport News, aims to restrict the program.

Equipping police forces

The Department of Defense's "1033" initiative began in the mid-1990s with congressional authorization, mainly to help law enforcement agencies combat drug trafficking. It offers everything from general equipment such as desks and exercise equipment, to guns, armored vehicles and even planes.

Under the program, tactical items are technically on loan to the police agencies. Ownership of the weaponry is maintained by the federal government. If the local agency no longer wants a weapon, they must give it back.

The ACLU — which has been complaining in recent years about what it calls a trend toward "militarized policing" — contended in a June report that having free access to such weapons has led police to use more heavy-handed tactics. The organization also blames equipment grants from the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security.

President Barack Obama expressed concern at a September news conference about the response at Ferguson, calling for a re-examination of the military's surplus program.

One of the great things about the United States, Obama said, is the "distinction" between police and the military, saying it "helps preserve our civil liberties."

"There is a big difference between our military and our local law enforcement, and we don't want those lines blurred," he said. "That would be contrary to our traditions."

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., considered a leading Republican candidate for president in 2016, has also voiced alarm. The "militarizing" is worrisome, he wrote, particularly in light of "eroding" civil liberties, such as an increased use of "no-knock" search warrants and the forfeiture of people's assets without convictions.

"Big government has been at the heart of the problem," Paul wrote in Time magazine on Aug. 14. "Washington has incentivized the militarization of local police precincts by using federal dollars to help municipal governments build what are essentially small armies — where police departments compete to acquire military gear that goes far beyond what most Americans think of as law enforcement."

Controlling the flow of weapons

On Sept. 16, U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Georgia, introduced the "Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act," designed to "stop the free flow" of excess Defense Department military weapons "from battlefields directly to the streets of America."

"When law enforcement uses military MRAPs on Main Street, that changes the relationship with the public," Johnson said on the House floor. "Our country is not a war zone, and it should not feel like one."

Scott signed on as a co-sponsor, as did 33 others — 29 Democrats and four Republicans.

Under the bill, the Defense Department would be barred from transferring to police departments "automatic weapons that are not recognized as suitable for law enforcement," including any guns .50-caliber or greater. On Thursday, Scott said many rifle transfers would still likely be allowed.

The legislation would ban the transfer of armored vehicles, drones, aircraft, flash bang grenades, stun grenades and gun silencers.

"If you need a military-style operation, it appears to me that you should call in the military, people that are actually trained in using these things," Scott said Thursday. "How often does a local county sheriff actually use a tank? And how well trained will his deputies be in using a tank? If you need a tank, the local National Guard can get one out there in no time."

Getting such a piece of equipment should be a policy decision, he said.

"If York County needs a tank," Scott said, "the county ought to appropriate the money and buy it."

Scott said he didn't have an immediate answer as to what he thought should be done with the unused equipment if it didn't go to police. But, he said, "getting this equipment so they can practice military operations against local citizens is in my view inappropriate."

Defending the weapons

Many in local law enforcement, however, have a very different take.

York-Poquoson Sheriff J.D. "Danny" Diggs defended his acquisition of the MRAP, saying it won't be routinely used. But it can help rescue and protect citizens and deputies alike in extreme situations, from a natural disaster to a hostage crisis to a school shooting.

"If we had deputies down in a situation, we could roll up to them and rescue them," Diggs said. Or in the case of a barricaded suspect, he added, "we could get in a little closer to establish some kind of communication."

And because the six-wheel-drive armored vehicle can drive into 3 feet of water, he said, "if we needed to evacuate people out of some water, we could do that as well." Sometimes, Diggs said, "you don't just want to show up in a patrol car."

Diggs added that he understands how such equipment "can be negatively perceived." But, he said, "the perceived abuse by one agency does not affect every agency in the country."

"Who's abusing it?" Diggs said of his MRAP, saying it's "not a tank." 

He also disputes the notion of widespread "police militarization."

"Other than having an MRAP, I'm no more militarized than I was 15 years ago when I took office," Diggs said. "So does that one piece of equipment that has multiple uses, and that will rarely if ever be used, make me some kind of military agency now? The answer is no."

Aside from the new armored vehicle, Diggs said, the only other surplus items his 94-person department has received from the program are 40 backpacks, some binoculars, and five shotguns that have been converted to less-than-lethal weapons that shoot beanbags.

He also said the armored vehicle is a good deal for county taxpayers. The Pentagon originally paid $733,000 for the MRAP in 2008, with Diggs saying it's now valued at about $400,000. The cost to the Sheriff's Office was only the $6,500 to ship it from Texas, with Diggs estimating maintenance at about $500 annually.

Isle of Wight Sheriff Mark Marshall, whose office has acquired two utility trucks, four rifles and eight digital cameras under the program, said "we're all trying to do more with less, as budgets continue to shrink."

"A lot of this equipment can be appropriately converted to civilian law enforcement," Marshall said. "The community and agency just have to weigh it out. Is there a utility? What's the maintenance? And is there a need that they foresee?"

He spoke of a Los Angeles case from 1997, in which two bank robbers armed with assault rifles had injured civilians, and "the weaponry the LAPD had to confront them was insufficient." Eventually, Marshall said, police had to take over a Brinks truck to evacuate the wounded.

Newport News Police spokesman Lou Thurston also brought up the 1997 incident, saying some of the officers went to a nearby gun shop, telling the owners that, "We're in a gun battle and need some firepower."

James City County Deputy Police Chief Steve Rubino said his department has gotten 67 military rifles during the past 10 years or so.

"It's a necessary piece of equipment to address deadly threats at a greater and safer distance more accurately," he said.

But he said the department tries to factor in public perception when acquiring new equipment. Last year, the police considered buying a new kind of bulletproof vest that's worn outside an officer's uniform. But the department decided against the move, Rubino said, because of the "appearance and image that they presented to the public."

The Williamsburg-James City Sheriff's Office has acquired 15 military rifles under the Defense Department program. The office doesn't provide primary law enforcement, with deputies providing court security, prisoner transport and the serving of court paperwork. But sometimes they help back up the police, Sheriff Bob Deeds said.

"And if someone were to come into the (courthouse) with something aside from a handgun ... then we have to be ready," Deeds said. Given the cost of new rifles, he said, getting the guns at shipping cost "was a pretty good deal in terms of saving taxpayers money."

Dana Schrad, executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, touted the fact that the military's surplus program doesn't just transfer weapons, but everything from desks to lockers, from bulletproof vests to outer wear.

She asked what would become of the military weaponry if it didn't go to police:

"Do we really want to see them publicly auctioned off to people who are not in fact in a position to protect and serve?"

Schrad spoke of the students walking out of Columbine High School in Colorado with their hands up in 1999. If a sniper was at a school window, she said, "he could have picked off those kids." But an armored vehicle could go in and rescue them.

"On the rare occasion that it's used, it may be the only piece of equipment that can make a difference between saving a life or not," Schrad said. "This equipment can help the public, and not so much endanger the public."

Any potential misuse of the weapons, Schrad said, is curtailed by good training and policy, and by laws and court decisions outlawing excessive police force.

In his application for the MRAP in January, Diggs said his tactical team uses a modified and unprotected Ford Econoline van. Diggs said he initially wanted a smaller version of the armored vehicle, but only the larger version was available.

"We compare it to a generator — it's not worth much to many people until you need it," he said. "Would we have gone out to buy one of these out of local taxpayer money? The answer is no. Is it too big, is it overkill? The answer is yes. But it's at very low cost to us … and we hope we never have to use it."

There's a hatch atop the MRAP, near where a gun was once mounted. There are a couple bullet marks on the windows left over from wartime. The vehicle will soon be painted with a York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office logo, Diggs said, but will be made available to other cities and counties in Hampton Roads, too.

It's all about being prepared, Diggs said.

"Some people will criticize us because we got one," he said. "But others will criticize us if we didn't have one — and some kind of incident happened where we needed it. They'd say, 'It was available. Why didn't you get one?' "