Dems launch effort to demilitarize police

Democrats in both chambers are pushing legislation to demilitarize the nation’s police forces.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) introduced legislation Thursday to reform a Pentagon program that transfers surplus military equipment to local law enforcement agencies.

{mosads}Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) will introduce a companion bill in the House next week.

The proposal is a response to police reaction to protests that followed last August’s shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo.

“The bottom line is, this equipment saves lives, but these programs need reform,” McCaskill, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, said in a statement.

The Pentagon’s 1033 program gained national attention last summer when protesters, irate over Brown’s death, faced off with local police in the streets of Ferguson, a largely black suburb of St. Louis. 

Images of officers confronting protesters with assault rifles, gas masks and military vehicles went viral, leading top lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to question the wisdom of transferring military-grade gear to local authorities.

The McCaskill-Clay bill would create a task force charged with examining the 1033 program to determine what war-grade equipment is suitable for local law enforcers. 

The package would also dedicate Department of Justice (DOJ) funding for police body cameras; establish a DOJ database to track the use of SWAT teams nationwide; and require states to mandate annual sensitivity training for law enforcement officers under the guidance of certified instructors.

Clay said the new requirements will “help officers interact more effectively with racially and ethnically diverse communities, new immigrants, the mentally ill and disabled Americans.”

“This enhanced training will protect both the public and police officers by helping to deescalate volatile situations before they lead to the use of force,” he said.

In September, Reps. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) introduced legislation that goes a step further. Their bill would have scaled back the 1033 program by barring the transfer of specific equipment, including high-caliber weapons, acoustic cannons, grenades, grenade launchers and certain armored vehicles. House GOP leaders never took it up.

President Obama also has the issue on his radar. In January he launched a working group composed of top Cabinet officials to examine the 1033 program and recommend reforms that would ensure law officers receiving the equipment are trained both in its use and in “the protection of civil rights and civil liberties” of local communities.