Trump Lifting Military Gear Ban For Local Officers

  • What some are calling a controversial move by the Trump administration others are calling a life-saving decision for the men and women who serve as police officers protecting the streets of our nation.

    In 2015 then President Barack Obama issued an executive order that halted the transfer of surplus gear from our nations' military to any police force.  This included items such as armored vehicles, grenade launchers, high-caliber weapons and camouflage uniforms. This order came directly following the controversy over the “militarization” of the police response to unrest in Ferguson, Missouri.

    “These guidelines were created after Ferguson to ensure that police departments had a guardian, not warrior, mentality,” said Vanita Gupta, former head of DOJ's civil rights division under Obama and who now leads the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “Our communities are not the same as armed combatants in a war zone.”

    There are many ways that we can look at this situation. The National Fraternal Order of Police have some strong words about the prior administrations' decision and how this new change will affect our local police departments. So let's take a look at what the head of the NFOP and others had to say about this matter.

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    395 Comments

    1. Justin Cole said:

      Krystal Hooks no offense but it’s one of my personal rules that I don’t argue with people who have no real profile picture.

    2. Alan Raymond Yates said:

      Oh bullcrap. Justin Cole your opinion is a lot worse than not having a profile pic. Just for general information, PDs aren’t “filled with democrats…” Cops tend more to conservative politics…and even if they don’t cops and agencies don’t “vote” rights away. That would be your elected officials in legislatures.

    3. Anthony Ferrante said:

      There’s a lot wrong with not only our law enforcement but our judicial system as a whole. I’m an army vet, highly trained and can see the easy simple mistakes made everyday by police from lack of training and oversight in the hiring process itself.

      We could start with unjust laws, no victim no crime, but we should start with the lack of training and how the community itself that the police serve have no say on who becomes an officer in that area.

      I’ve never needed an officer in my life, because I learned and trained to defend myself and others around me, maybe if the communities took it upon themselves to train so they were more confident in their ability to defend themselves, we would solve a lot of the problem right then.

      Next is weapon training. Guns aren’t going anywhere, we’ve hit the point of no return where too many people know how to make them on their own. I propose instead of banning guns, we need more of them. With proper training most people wouldn’t use a gun if they didnt have to (most not all) but think about this, would a lone gunman run into a movie theater to shoot people if he knew everyone in there had a gun? Hell no.

      The fact is people have gotten too comfortable, so they let others protect them when they can do it themselves with the proper training. Start at the community level with our children and I bet in 1 generation the need for police falls at an astounding rate.

      We have to be the change we talk about.

    4. Michal Tadeusz said:

      There’s enforcing a law you don’t agree with and there’s kicking in the door to someone’s home who you know for a fact is potentially heavily armed to infringe on a constitution you swore to protect. It’s not gunna happen the rhetoric is a facade that drives up guns and ammo prices. Just don’t live in NY California or jersey and you should be all right.

    5. Ernie Sheattler said:

      go$#%&!@*yourself with your fake im pro law enforcement your just a sheep that will let the government rape you

    6. Justin Cole said:

      Alan Raymond Yates I never said PD’s are filled with them, I said just WAIT until they are. Put on your reading glasses.

      Michal Tadeusz I should be able to live in whatever city I want and my constitutional rights remain the same. The fact they aren’t shows me just how bad our law system is

    7. Justin Cole said:

      Alan Raymond Yates also, it is very acceptable to hold the ones who are enforcing the law accountable. It’s a sad day when you hear cops enforcing laws they know are not fair yet they do it for a paycheck. Worse than criminals

    8. Dan Scott said:

      Sounds good until you realize you are a domestic terrorist and you are who they are after.

    9. Patrick Griffith said:

      i am no more a terrorist then you are a man.
      i am an american citizen who understands with constitution in hand we don’t have to kiss butt for right of citizen american.

      for nearly10 years the illegal immigrant has had more comfort with no legal right then our citizen simply by voice….we have our bill of rights, your constitution and our citizenship.

      too many citizens forget, we are the americans.

    10. Patrick Griffith said:

      i personally believe it will actually be more equiptment than actual firepower of weapons.

      vehicles, elertronics, computers, communications, personal safety equiptment and specialzed training.

    11. Darren Ritchie said:

      I do not agree with this at all. We do not need a militarized police. Ron Paul speaks against this all the time.

    12. Patrick Griffith said:

      true, but to dress as man, you see the opportunities life has to offer.
      and take only what you need.

    13. Matt Tyda said:

      I always support America & the President but disagree with this. On the other hand it might come in handy if we’re ever attacked inside of the U.S.

    14. Patrick Griffith said:

      true, but to dress as man, you sieze the opportunities life has to offer.
      and take only what you need.

    15. AnnaBella Thompson said:

      cops are barely human, for to be so it takes morals and a mind to differentiate, they only hire criminal minds of the lowest IQ’s,

    16. Douglas Oscar said:

      Harley Williford who’s going to protect them from the thief that stole a car and I driving recklessly on the same roads they travel ? Are you going to load up and catch them by following up scanner ?

    17. Patrick Griffith said:

      true again ms. annabella.
      but could we suppose for the moment we could hope law enforcement to be human and moral enough to differentiate the good guy from the bad guy?
      law enforcement are really not the citizens problem so much as the judicial court systems today.

      cops are as any employee to react to orders.
      they have certain rules of conduct and only can do as told….no more, no less.

      are there bad cops….oh yeah!
      but as any vocation, the good outweigh the bad.

    18. AnnaBella Thompson said:

      cops are an arm of a private corporation called the state,and or the city , county of which they are employed, and have no due diligence to the people, at all, supreme court even ruled on this, i have bested every ticket ever gotten , by refusing to ”contract ” with them at any time, specially driving ticketed from road pirates ,

    19. AnnaBella Thompson said:

      and no, the good in this case have never outweighed the bad for decades, the whole bunch as it were are spoiled, only the blind would ever say let alone think that way,

    20. Matt Tyda said:

      I like that way of looking at it but idk if I like the idea of America police officers having that kind of equipment.

    21. Nels Strand said:

      Police departments can already get military gear. The only military gear that they couldn’t get under Obama are grenade launchers, weaponized air craft, tanks with tracked treads, bayonets, camouflage uniforms and weapons over .50 caliber. These recommendations were made by a group of law enforcement officials to Obama. Trump is getting rid of these restrictions.

    22. Kael Crosse said:

      As I see it, it’s not an issue of local law enforcement having access to higher levels of equipment, it’s limiting when and where they they can use it. SWAT should have the gear it takes for the matters they handle (which should be fairly limited), common patrol officers should have no need for anything larger than a shotgun.

    23. Thomas Loretan said:

      Unless it’s California then the State should run there own$#%&!@*with kind words.

    24. Harley Williford said:

      Cops don’t protect you from that happening, they punish people for doing that. And yes, I can punish people for stealing from me myself. If someone stole something from me, I can do something about it. In fact, I would be in a better position to do something about it when someone wrongs me if the cops were not in the way.

    25. Harley Williford said:

      Most of the time if you call the cops they will show up after the crime has been committed and tell you that they can not help you. They are not here to protect the public. They are here to protect the ruling class from the public. Uncle Sam is not your friend.

    26. Anthony Wood said:

      Yea im against this no need for a militarized police force. IF they must then they need more psychological training as well as weapons training

    27. Harley Williford said:

      If you are wealthy enough that the police can be bothered to investigate a crime committed against you, you can afford a private investigator.

    28. Tobias Shinobi said:

      Lifting military gear ban? Well shoot, i thought that MRAP vehicles, 6 shooter 37mm launchers, full auto mp5s, and APCs were military…. Police forces have had them for years, and never stopped having them. What trump SHOULD do is repeal the NFA and GCA

    29. Kayla Mike Busch said:

      A ccp and good training is everyone’s best bet. After all, its our right and it keeps our employees (public officials) and criminals in check knowing the public is armed. The more police that back the public and the constitution, The better public relations will be.

    30. Michael Tayefeh said:

      Well, the deep state wanted class warfare.
      Judging by these idiotic comments from the hive mind, it’s working.
      Citizen vs police
      Gay vs straight
      White vs black
      Rich vs poor.

      The police are not your enemy.
      Please stop making it so easy for them to separate us.

    31. Patrick Griffith said:

      no we defintely do not want a military type stance law enforcement.
      but our well being in instance of interior attack our first “other” line of defense will be law enforcement.
      and would be to better advantage to be equal to at least be equal to threat.

    32. Patrick Griffith said:

      why are people so willing to engage the imminate suicide of democracy?
      are the monetary bribes and traitorous political extortions of city, county, state and government so generous as to betray the history, culture, choice of religious beliefs, traditional morals of family, friends and neighbors knowing the harmful short and long effects of each and every citizen in america.

      knowing when these forced beliefs are ‘law’ our nations children will be raped, tortured, assulted, executed-murdered….and being “law” there will be nothing ‘legal’ you can do about it….?
      are you citizens of american so damn stupid to think to ignore, it will all go away….?
      what is going away is reasoning, common decency, morals, respect, compassion, replaced with the apathy of turning cowardly eyes away.

      we are surely disgusting to allow ‘non-conforming outside influences’ to turn our world of already uncertainty into a certain and sure base of hell on earth.

      fools begging to be$#%&!@*by the proven most evil and vile, beyond most imgination….would you think civilized….400 plus years of torture, rape and death.

      what was that:
      “ask and we shall receive!”

    33. Lenny Clrk said:

      problem is who is deciding who are the criminals. once they are militarized and us U.S. citizens try to revolt it’s too late. once it becomes you they are kicking the door in on it’s too late. the percentage of bank robbers is very small. this is meant for me and you and your family. since people are finally waking up to SOME of the b.s going on, they are ramping up tank like weapons so when we do come together and try to overthrow the establishment we will be shot with water cannons on top a tank. this is all bad. I’m a tax paying law abiding citizen who thinks there are too many laws and taxes.

    34. Duncan Vincent said:

      I cannot believe Prez Trump would be so short sided as to allow this, even Obama had the brains not to do this. The police used tanks on David Koresh in Waco and how did that work out for the civilians?

    35. Thomas Manse said:

      What ban? Obama had DOD giving “surplus” vehicles complete with gun turrets to police departments during his administration. The militarization of LE is already several years old and Obama was ordering DOD to foot the bill! Police don’t need these vehicles, nevermind that a F150 makes a superior off-road vehicle, gets 2.5-3 times the fuel economy on a far less expensive fuel, has longer fuel range and is actually reliable, can tow at least as much as an HMMWV, and costs about half as much for a loaded f150 as a base HMMWV. MRAPs are not suitable for use on public roads and highways, and currently have no practical application anywhere in the US. A traditional SWAT vehicle or armored carrier vehicle is far more suitable to the types of hostilities plausible in the US under extreme circumstances. If departments ever have to pay for them they’ll never do it again or they’ll rally the city council to raise your taxes again to keep them running! The military vehicles aren’t the best vehicles even for the military! Early, well built prototypes scored better than other strictly combat vehicle prototypes and received a contract!

    36. Thomas Manse said:

      Denying police access to war specific vehicles has nothing to do with wanting them dead. We should all support our LE and learn to research fake news! Obama pushed DOD to fdump all their unassigned inventory in his bid to disarm the US! Trump did NOT create a law, he may not have ended this yet but he certainly didn’t start it! This same discussion has been on Facebook for at least a few years. These vehicles have no practical purpose in LE, they aren’t even the best suited for their respective roles, just the ones that had the best salesmen. If you own a 4WD F150 or Ram1500 or Silverado you already own a superior off road vehicles, a superior highway vehicle with far superior fuel economy and tow capacity, as well as reliability and most are now muffled or can easily be muffled to make moving unnoticed a possibility. Too many reasons those crappy vehicles suck, from the fact they’re too heavy to their optimistic 10MPG fuel economy on an extremely expensive fuel, to lack of AC, unrealiability, impractically wide wheel bases, extremely top heavy and grossly over priced$#%&!@*boxes, they’ll be giving them away to stop having to repair them.

    37. Joslyn Medrano said:

      Yea sure. Braving sleeping babies, wrong houses, and savage dogs with wagging tails. Yea to this day ONLY the fecking mailman, FedEx, UPS and various mail carriers have my respect. Who knows how they brave these streets every day unscathed!

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