Police-Military Gear Transfers Scrutinized

The White House and lawmakers on Capitol Hill alike are questioning the extent of equipment transfers to civilian police forces from the armed forces. The concerns arose after police in Ferguson, Mo., shot and killed a young African-American male Aug. 9. After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, government officials alike acted to ensure that local communities were equipped adequately to respond to future contingencies. Critics now are pointing to the Ferguson incident as evidence that some local law-enforcement agencies have gone too far with their implementation of combat gear to police their communities. “It’s probably useful for us to review how the funding [for such gear] has gone, how local law enforcement has used grant dollars, to make sure what they’re purchasing is stuff that they actually need,” President Obama said in an Aug. 18 press conference at the White House. “There is a big difference between our military and our law enforcement and we don’t want those lines blurred,” Obama said.