Robert Reich appropriately calls it “Dumb.”
From Business Insider’s Daniel Brown:
“Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Monday that President Donald Trump plans to loosen federal restrictions on local police agencies obtaining surplus weapons and equipment from the US military. The weapons transfer program, called the 1033 Program, was established by Congress in 1990, and has since allowed local law enforcement agencies to acquire more than $5.4 billion in weapons and equipment, according to the Washington Post.
“Former President Barack Obama signed an executive order in 2015 that restricted certain weapons from being transferred, like grenade launchers, because he worried that these weapons and equipment could create an ‘us versus them’ mentality, like in the events in Ferguson, Mo.When Sessions made the announcement in front of the Fraternal Order of Police, he reportedly received a ‘roaring applause.’”
Trump is rolling back limits on providing local law enforcement agencies surplus military gear. Dumb.
We’ve seen, in places like Ferguson, Mo., how the militarization of police departments can escalate tensions and cost innocent lives. When President Obama barred the transfer of military equipment to police in 2015, he said “we've seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people a feeling like there's an occupying force as opposed to a force that's part of the community that's protecting them and serving them. It can alienate and intimidate local residents and send the wrong message."
The only reason for Trump to rescind Obama’s directive is Trump’s continued scorn for communities of color. Police departments around the country should reject Trump's offer of military weapons. They should instead pursue partnerships with communities, which have proven far more effective in reducing crime and de-escalating tensions than weapons of war.
In just the last three days Trump has demeaned transgender people by pursuing his military ban, and pardoned former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio after he was convicted of violating the laws he was sworn to uphold. And now the militarization of our police. Trump’s cruel bigotry seems to know no bounds.
By Daniel Brown
