An Obscure Military Program Helps Local Cops Buy Armored Cars and Spyware. It Might Balloon Under Trump.

Local cops have gotten tens of millions of dollars worth of discounted military gear under a secretive federal effort that is poised to grow under latest executive action from Donald Trump according to a new statement Armored vehicles video surveillance programs and thermal imagers are all examples of the ware purchased by local police under a lesser-known cousin to another controversial activity that gifts them the gear outright All of these things combined serve as a threat to free speech an intimidation tactic to protest The floodgates could be opened now that President Donald Trump has revoked an executive order issued by his predecessor Joe Biden meant to tamp down on the warrior cop trend When paired with the increasing number of local agencies aiding mass deportation the activity so named after a section of federal defense law presents a danger to people facing off against militarized cops according to Women for Weapons Business Transparency All of these things combined serve as a threat to free speech an intimidation tactic to protest commented Lillian Mauldin the co-founder of the nonprofit group which produced the account distributed this week I fear that the initiative not only has wasted tax dollars has increased the violent tactics by police departments but is also part of a larger chilling effect Other Warrior Cop Programs The sight of police officers in battle gear facing off against protesters in Ferguson Missouri in drew widespread attention to the federal ruling body s activity which has long sent surplus gear like mine-resistant vehicles and bayonets to local police Since however the even more obscure venture has allowed local cops to purchase everything from uniforms to riot shields at federal ruling body rates Named after a section of the National Defense Authorization Act the bill that appropriates the military s budget the project turns the feds into purchasing agents for local police Local cops have used the venture to pick up Lenco BearCats fearsome-looking armored police vehicles that display a resemblance to military trucks deployed abroad Those vehicles represented percent of the total spending identified in the Women for Weapons Arrangement Transparency review Surveillance gear and application represented another percent and weapons or riot gear represented percent One agency bought a Star Safire thermal imaging system the kind used in military helicopters Related An NYPD Camera Points Directly Into Their Bedroom They re Suing the City Over It The Texas Department of General Safety s intelligence and counterterrorism unit purchased a million surveillance system license Another agency bought an covert camera system Several of the purchases were for more mundane items such as police cruisers radio gear or uniforms Still the average discount of about percent allows state and local agencies to buy more military gear than they might otherwise Mauldin mentioned It really calls into question she mentioned when so countless cities in the U S are facing crises of homelessness of food insecurity of rising rent prices how are police departments justifying these hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of purchases Transparency Blocked Women for Weapons Deal Transparency first attempted to shine a light on the venture in a review three years ago during the Biden administration They were particularly interested in which and how plenty of weapons have been obtained by local police with the help of the Army A Freedom of Information Act request they filed at the time however has yet to be fulfilled The Army declined to comment Without centralized records from the Army which serves as the activity s executive agent the nonprofit took a shotgun approach filing dozens of record requests at the state and local level Related Texas Deployed SWAT Bomb Robot Small Army of Cops to Arrest a Woman and Her Dog Even then the response rate was so low that Mauldin estimates her group s total finding of million in purchases is a notable undercount We suspect that total spending could be in the upper hundreds of millions she announced My best guess would be above million That number pales in comparison to the billion in equipment shipped to local cops under the activity Still Mauldin stated that the project s lack of transparency is deeply concerning The plan has gotten much more news coverage much more general scrutiny and that did lead to certain reforms she revealed There is truly population input on the operation which is very different than Read our complete coverage Chilling Dissent Little RoboCops Everywhere In its assessment Mauldin s group called for the elimination of the venture The group pointed to one of Trump s first executive actions in January On the first day of his second term Trump revoked an executive order that Biden had issued to limit the transfer of chosen of the bulk aggressive military gear to local cops Related LAPD Won t Do Immigration Enforcement But Will Shoot You With Rubber Bullets for Protesting ICE With the Trump promising to erase whatever federal guidelines restricted local police and with selected agencies eagerly joining ICE in raids targeting immigrants and protesters Women for Weapons Exchange Transparency believes the liability to the society from and similar programs is too great It is concerning Mauldin mentioned to think that our police departments have increasingly more access to this type of military style gear to facilitate these raids and arrests The post An Obscure Military Activity Helps Local Cops Buy Armored Cars and Spyware It Might Balloon Under Trump appeared first on The Intercept