Why does the St Cloud police department need with an MRAP?

[Acebb]

The events in Missouri are elevating the dialogue regarding the militarization of police. I think that is a good thing. I have no idea why The town of Royalton (population 1,242) has a grenade launcher.


ST. CLOUD – The war, at least parts of it, has come home now.

Tons of surplus military equipment, some last used in Iraq and Afghanistan, are being given to local cops and sheriffs by the Department of Defense.
Pine County has a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle (MRAP), built to protect troops from explosions. The Rochester Police Department has an armored truck. The town of Royalton (population 1,242) has a grenade launcher.

The Pentagon offers no training for these weapons. Some police departments admit to having few ready uses for them.

The nationwide trend was put on stark display last week in the unrest in Ferguson, Mo., over the police shooting death of an unarmed teen. The town at times resembled a war zone, with officers clad in full body armor brandishing M16 rifles and firing rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators.

The police response was widely criticized as excessive and amateurish. Missouri’s governor responded by ordering the department to stand aside; he told the state’s highway patrol to assume responsibility for policing the town and imposed a state of emergency Saturday.

http://www.startribune.com/local/271538471.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue

 

[Acebb]

Mark Steyn on the Militarization of the police:

So, when the police are dressed like combat troops, it's not a fashion faux pas, it's a fundamental misunderstanding of who they are. Forget the armored vehicles with the gun turrets, forget the faceless, helmeted, anonymous Robocops, and just listen to how these "policemen" talk. Look at the video as they're arresting the New York Times and Huffington Postreporters. Watch the St Louis County deputy ordering everyone to leave, and then adding: "This is not up for discussion."

http://www.steynonline.com/6524/cigars-but-not-close

 

[GasMan]

It's just a further extension of the fingers of our federal government.

Take a state's citizen's money, then make the state beg for and coerce them to get it back.

A fucked up thing big government is.

 

[rolltide]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/u...ss&emc=rss&smid=tw-upshot&_r=0&abt=0002&abg=1

[h=1]Data on Transfer of Military Gear to Police Departments[/h] AUG. 19, 2014


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Matt Apuzzo


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WASHINGTON — Since President Obama took office, the Pentagon has transferred to police departments tens of thousands of machine guns; nearly 200,000 ammunition magazines; thousands of pieces of camouflage and night-vision equipment; and hundreds of silencers, armored cars and aircraft.
In May, The New York Times requested and received from the Pentagon its database of transfers since 2006. The data underpinned an article in June and helped inform coverage of the police response this month in Ferguson, Mo., after an officer shot Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager.
The Times is now posting the raw data to GitHub here. With this data, which is being posted as it was received, people can see what gear is being used in their communities. The equipment is as varied as guns, computers and socks.
Continue reading the main story [h=2]Recent Comments[/h] [h=2]Victor[/h] 1 hour ago It's clear from this map that the militarization of our police began as a national policy supported by laws passed by Congress and continued...
[h=2]mrcoinc[/h] 1 hour ago Already the story of Albany NY police obtaining machine guns, issuing or selling them to individual policemen, and having these weapons...
[h=2]lou andrews[/h] 1 hour ago the armaments industry needs new users- now they got them- our local police forces- what better way to create more addicts than to give the...

• See All Comments
• Write a comment

The Pentagon-to-police transfer program is not new. Congress created it during the drug war, as a way to increase police firepower in the fight against drug gangs. But since 9/11, as the Pentagon geared up to fight two wars, then drew down as those wars ended, the amount of available military surplus has ballooned.
Now, after a week of confrontation between protesters in Ferguson and heavily armed police, members of Congress are criticizing the trickle down of military gear.


[h=2]Mapping the Spread of the Military’s Surplus Gear[/h] State and local police departments obtain some of their military-style equipment through a free Defense Department program created in the early 1990s. While the portion of their gear that comes from the program is relatively small (most of it is paid for by the departments or through federal grants), detailed data from the Pentagon illustrates how ubiquitous such equipment has become. Highlighted counties have received guns, grenade launchers, vehicles, night vision or body armor through the program since 2006.
Filter by
Aircraft
Planes and helicopters

Armored Vehicles
Including cars and trucks

Body Armor
Including vests and helmets

Grenade Launchers
Usually used for smoke grenades and tear gas

Night Vision
Including sights, binoculars
and accessories

Assault Rifles
5.56-mm and 7.62-mm rifles

 

[rolltide]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/u...ss&emc=rss&smid=tw-upshot&_r=0&abt=0002&abg=1

[h=1]Data on Transfer of Military Gear to Police Departments[/h] AUG. 19, 2014


Continue reading the main story


Matt Apuzzo


Continue reading the main story Share This Page

• email
• facebook
• twitter
• save
• more

Continue reading the main story

WASHINGTON — Since President Obama took office, the Pentagon has transferred to police departments tens of thousands of machine guns; nearly 200,000 ammunition magazines; thousands of pieces of camouflage and night-vision equipment; and hundreds of silencers, armored cars and aircraft.
In May, The New York Times requested and received from the Pentagon its database of transfers since 2006. The data underpinned an article in June and helped inform coverage of the police response this month in Ferguson, Mo., after an officer shot Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager.
The Times is now posting the raw data to GitHub here. With this data, which is being posted as it was received, people can see what gear is being used in their communities. The equipment is as varied as guns, computers and socks.
Continue reading the main story [h=2]Recent Comments[/h] [h=2]Victor[/h] 1 hour ago It's clear from this map that the militarization of our police began as a national policy supported by laws passed by Congress and continued...
[h=2]mrcoinc[/h] 1 hour ago Already the story of Albany NY police obtaining machine guns, issuing or selling them to individual policemen, and having these weapons...
[h=2]lou andrews[/h] 1 hour ago the armaments industry needs new users- now they got them- our local police forces- what better way to create more addicts than to give the...

• See All Comments
• Write a comment

The Pentagon-to-police transfer program is not new. Congress created it during the drug war, as a way to increase police firepower in the fight against drug gangs. But since 9/11, as the Pentagon geared up to fight two wars, then drew down as those wars ended, the amount of available military surplus has ballooned.
Now, after a week of confrontation between protesters in Ferguson and heavily armed police, members of Congress are criticizing the trickle down of military gear.


[h=2]Mapping the Spread of the Military’s Surplus Gear[/h] State and local police departments obtain some of their military-style equipment through a free Defense Department program created in the early 1990s. While the portion of their gear that comes from the program is relatively small (most of it is paid for by the departments or through federal grants), detailed data from the Pentagon illustrates how ubiquitous such equipment has become. Highlighted counties have received guns, grenade launchers, vehicles, night vision or body armor through the program since 2006.
Filter by
Aircraft
Planes and helicopters

Armored Vehicles
Including cars and trucks

Body Armor
Including vests and helmets

Grenade Launchers
Usually used for smoke grenades and tear gas

Night Vision
Including sights, binoculars
and accessories

Assault Rifles
5.56-mm and 7.62-mm rifles

 

[Acebb]

[h=1]Missouri Dem: ‘Rand Paul was right’[/h]
FERGUSON, Mo. — Two African-American lawmakers from Missouri met with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday afternoon at the Pentagon to urge him to curtail the transfer of military hardware to local police forces.
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D), one of the two lawmakers, said the scene in Ferguson over the past two weeks reminded him of combat footage from Iraq.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, and I grew up in the South during the civil rights days,” he said.
He and Rep. Lacy Clay (D) said the military-grade weapons and equipment donated by the Pentagon to local agencies were never intended to be used against citizens engaged in civil disobedience.

http://thehill.com/homenews/news/215733-missouri-dem-rand-paul-was-right

 

[Acebb]

Good news:

[h=1]Citizen Patrol Aims to Defend Against Police Shootings[/h]
We believe we can police ourselves and bring security to our community, ridding our community of black-on-black crime, violence, police terror, etc., etc.," Freeman said.
Freeman and more than two dozen other people, many carrying rifles, marched Wednesday afternoon along Martin Luther King Boulevard and Malcolm X Boulevard, streets named for civil rights leaders.
David Harrison, whose mentally disabled brother was killed by Dallas police two months ago, attended the march in support. Harrison said an autopsy showed his brother was shot six times, twice in the back.
"When you have to plant your loved ones, it's rough. And it's forever," Harrison said.
At one point, the march went to Elaine's Restaurant on Martin Luther King Boulevard, where demonstrators piled rifles on tables as they ordered cold drinks and food.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Ci...272080641.html?_osource=SocialFlowFB_DFWBrand