Stop the Militarization of Local Officers

                                                             

The Senate arms program is currently reviewing the Weapons transfer program to evaluate how these weapons are being used. Officers in Missouri is currently using military grade weapons on protestors. They are treating the citizens as terrorist in their own country. These weapons were not made for protesters rather for a battle field. There are many reasons why these weapons should not be in the arms of officers and many reasons why they should.

They started distributing these equipment in 2012 and then suspended it after they realized that equipments were going missing. Among these military grade supplies are armored personnel carriers, mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles, M-4 rifles, assault rifles, rubber bullets and pepper spray rounds - which is clearly showing local law enforcement being militarized. The program was then continued in 2013 and now the law is being reviewed. The fact that these weapons were sent out to the force and many went missing is showing an issue within law enforcement.

The weapons are being sent straight from the pentagon through a program called the 1033 weapons transfer program. Since the creation of this program at least $4 billion dollars in military equipment has been distributed to law enforcement. Our police officers are not our military so why is the government treating them as such. As of now the situations are not being solved they are only becoming worst, the problem is escalating and this is what is taking place in ferguson Missouri.