American Military News by Nichole Manna - Fort Worth Star-Telegram June 23, 2020
Tarrant County law enforcement agencies have received more than $4.3 million in military surplus equipment through a federal Department of Defense program over the last 20 years, according to federal records.
The equipment includes rifles, mine-resistant vehicles, armored trucks, firearm accessories and breech blocks.
Demands to demilitarize the police have come to the forefront in the larger topic of police reform after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May.
The
federal 1033 — or LESO — Program has been heavily criticized since the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after a police officer fatally shot Michael Brown. Police roamed the streets in armored vehicles while carrying rifles. Similar images poured out of Minneapolis at the end of May.
In 2015, then-President Barack Obama
issued an executive order that banned police departments from using certain military equipment such as grenade launchers. In 2017, President Donald Trump removed
those restrictions through an executive order.
More:
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2020/06/fort-worth-area-police-have-received-mine-resistant-military-vehicles-worth-3-7m-in-past-5-years/