Spoils of War: Cops Are Now Arming Themselves With Leftover Military Gear

It’s never a good idea to piss off the police. At the best you get a ticket or citation, which is a hassle nobody needs; at the worst, you end up cooling your heels in jail wondering when your life went off the rails. But every once in a while you find someone inclined to talk back to authorities, sass the cops, and generally make terrible life choices (often which involve breaking the law — never a smart move). But maybe people will think twice about arguing over a speeding ticket when their local police force is armed with grenade launchers and assault weapons — we know we would.

Why?

Because the hottest new trend among local police departments is to arm themselves with second-hand weaponry from the U.S. military. It seems that the federal government had found itself loaded with a surplus of military equipment due to the winding down of America's presence in Iraq and Afghanistan and is now selling the extra equipment and weaponry to small-town authorities that feel the need for a little extra ammunition. This way the feds make back some of the money they invested in arming our soldiers and local police forces get some added security when going about their jobs.

Now while most of the sales are magazine cartridges, assault rifles, and night vision equipment, some of the authorities have opted for heavier purchases. Hundreds of police forces have put down cash for planes and helicopters to give their officers air support. While others have invested their funds in armored vehicles that resemble tanks and would be more at place in a war-zone instead of an American street.

Obviously, not everyone is thrilled with this aggressive arming of police forces. Some say that this is overkill; why do small towns with a few thousand citizens and virtually no crime need armored vehicles to keep the peace? Others are concerned that these moves bring America even closer to the dangerous control of a police state where the basic freedoms of citizens are a forgotten thing of the past. But authorities are disinclined to hand over their shiny new toys, and have been vociferously defending the purchases.

“The United States has become a war zone,” Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer said in an interview with The Indy Star. “There’s violence in the workplace, there’s violence in schools, and there’s violence in the streets. You are seeing police departments going to a semi-military format because of the threats we have to counteract. If driving a military vehicle is going to protect officers, that’s what I’m going to do.” It should be worth mentioning that Pulaski County has a population of barely over 13,000 — not exactly the sort of sprawling metropolis that would usually warrant military vehicles.

It’s understandable that authorities want to ensure that their officers are as safe as possible when going into dangerous situations; nobody could fault them for that. But most of these purchases are being made in small communities with low populations, rather than large cities with more crime. Additionally, crime rates across the United States have been dropping sharply since the mid-1990s. And although it may seem like there are horrific shootings on a regular basis in this country, gun homicides in the U.S are in decline — without the aid of heavy artillery.

These are uncertain times for police and civilians alike, when danger can strike at any moment. But seeing local police storming into a potential crime scene armed with military-grade weapons and a willingness to use them could backfire horribly. Instead of diffusing tense situations, these new tools could lead to violent escalation — with tragic consequences for all involved.

[Pic via Flickr - Oregon Department of Transportation]