Obama says, "No more Federal arming of police with military weapons"

[Squire]

I never thought I would agree with something Obama was doing, but de-militarizing the police, even if his motives are to appease his political base, is something I can support.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/18/politics/bayonets-police-white-house/index.html

 

[P-14]

No tracked vehicles, no .50 cal or higher arms, no grenade launchers. Sounds like just a scratch on the surface of the problem.

And, LEs can still buy from private suppliers (according to the article).

 

[Rob Boudrie]

And, LEs can still buy from private suppliers (according to the article).

Yes, but CA and NYC departments are going to have a hard time with 50BMG.

Barrent and Serbu won't sell to PDs in areas where the citizenry cannot buy their products, and Barret places CA police repair orders at the bottom of their priority list.

 

[ToddDubya]

The banned list includes: tank-like armored vehicles that move on tracks, certain types of camouflage uniforms, bayonets, firearms and ammunition of .50 caliber or higher, grenade launchers, and weaponized aircraft.

The presidential order will establish a "controlled equipment" list, with tightened requirements before federal agencies can transfer equipment to local cops. These will include riot control equipments and drones. Federal agencies will also require local police to provide more data so the government can better track equipment.
Local police can still bypass the federal restrictions and bans by buying the equipment from private sellers.

Do local police already use bayonets and weaponized aircraft?

How long before there's just a middle man who buys gov't surplus equipment and resells to the local police?

 

[Squire]

How long before there's just a middle man who buys gov't surplus equipment and resells to the local police?

At an order of magnitude the cost they were getting it direct, which the funding will come from the Feds. Sigh...

I was still happy to see a road bump, at least, for Jack Booted Thuggery. Congress should double down and take away the Bearcats too.

What does NEMLEC say about this? Anyone?

 

[beaker]

They must have finished then, or just doing it a different way.

 

[ToddDubya]

This was just a way to look like he's doing something to solve the problem. He probably should have included napalm, flamethrowers, B-2 bombers and nuclear submarines in the list of prohibited items.

 

[Lcstyle]

I'd be impressed if he banned all use of drones by any federal or local law enforcement agency over US (civilian) Airspace. Feel free to run drones over military / govt sites, but restrict the drones to that airspace and that airspace alone.

 

[Boris]

Do local police already use bayonets and weaponized aircraft?

How long before there's just a middle man who buys gov't surplus equipment and resells to the local police?

That's the plan and one of his Kenyan buddies will make cash on that.

 

[Mike S]

I never thought I would agree with something Obama was doing, but de-militarizing the police, even if his motives are to appease his political base, is something I can support.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/18/politics/bayonets-police-white-house/index.html

Now if we could only get him to stop sending this stuff, and more, to countries that hate us, on our dime.

 

[Artie]

he needs this stuff his "National Police Force".

This is exactly what I was thinking.

 

[Jsfitzgerald85]

Seems to me like he wants to make it look like he is fighting against militarized police and yet literally did nothing to actually fight it

 

[Boris]

Seems to me like he wants to make it look like he is fighting against militarized police and yet literally did nothing to actually fight it

That's pretty much describes Barry and every politician.

Also add to that: make money doing it.

 

[Hoon]

No, What the "****ing Kenyan" is really saying is that he needs this stuff his "National Police Force". So he needs to hold up on giving it out.

Absolutely this.

Cant have the local PDs better equipped than his planned federal JBT squad.

 

[Spanz]

Jaysus H. Christ in a dumptruck, Obama FINALLY gets ONE THING right! I hope this trickles down to all the other "federal" intrusions he has foisted on the American citizen recently! such as illegal wiretaps, drone use at home, NSA actions on US soil, and on and on.

 

[Squire]

Absolutely this.

Cant have the local PDs better equipped than his planned federal JBT squad.

He'll use the equipment as a recruiting tool to poach meatheads from the local JBT squads.

"You can't operate with this equipment there, but you can with me!"

The LEO/military guys always say they would never _INSERT_CIVIL_RIGHTS_VIOLATION_ so who is Obama going to hire to be in his Communist National Police Force which will redistribute, not reduce, civil rights violations out of the inner city for his political gain?

 

[MAD Geary]

Group buy on a MRAP??

 

[Varmint]

So he basically banned things the police aren't actually getting - another feel-good do nothing legislation from Obama, what a shocker.

 

[JCV]

So he basically banned things the police aren't actually getting - another feel-good do nothing legislation from Obama, what a shocker.

This.

The banned list includes: tank-like armored vehicles that move on tracks, certain types of camouflage uniforms, bayonets, firearms and ammunition of .50 caliber or higher, grenade launchers, and weaponized aircraft.

 

[AntiHippie]

I'd be impressed if he banned all use of drones by any federal or local law enforcement agency over US (civilian) Airspace. Feel free to run drones over military / govt sites, but restrict the drones to that airspace and that airspace alone.

Restrict them, don't ban them. Reason I don't support an outright ban is that I can see some very good, beneficial uses for drones - mainly in Search and Rescue. In many areas, inland and even some coastal Maritime SAR is run by Sheriff's Departments. A ban on using them for ENFORCEMENT I could see, although there could be areas where drones could be less invasive than human officers (I'm thinking regulatory stuff, not criminal investigation stuff. If a worksite is part of a heavily regulated industry, a drone could probably accomplish what would otherwise require shutting down or impeding a worksite to conduct an inspection).

This collective, nonspecific unwarranted surveillance stuff - drones, cameras everywhere, NSA tracking all of our telephone calls and internet traffic - I can't find any way a reasonable person could consider it Constitutional. That's my only hesitation with police body cams - I love the idea for accountability and evidentiary value, but I'm still unsure how that balances against what is likely a violation of privacy for those being recorded without their consent.

 

[frenchman]

Seems to me like he wants to make it look like he is fighting against militarized police and yet literally did nothing to actually fight it

Your perception is correct. They don't need tracked vehicles, as long as they get MRAPs and Bearcats. I'm not aware of a PD with weaponized aircrafts either. And I can't think of a situation where a PD could do something with a .50 cal, that they couldn't do with a .338. It's politics, that's all. As long as the LEOs won't be restricted by law to use certain types of weapons, they WILL have them. They don't care if they have to go through a third party to acquire these items, it's not like it is costing their money.

 

[rickinma]

Is anyone really complaining about the use of bayonets, by police or otherwise? I didn't understand why that was part of the AWB and I don't understand why the are mentioned in the article.

 

[Varmint]

Is anyone really complaining about the use of bayonets, by police or otherwise? I didn't understand why that was part of the AWB and I don't understand why the are mentioned in the article.

You answered your own question. Never miss an opportunity to further the agenda, that's his motto.

 

[FrugalFannie]

No tracked vehicles, no .50 cal or higher arms, no grenade launchers. Sounds like just a scratch on the surface of the problem.

And, LEs can still buy from private suppliers (according to the article).

and no bayonets. But.... they can still have armored vehicles and body armor

 

[Varmint]

Jaysus H. Christ in a dumptruck, Obama FINALLY gets ONE THING right! I hope this trickles down to all the other "federal" intrusions he has foisted on the American citizen recently! such as illegal wiretaps, drone use at home, NSA actions on US soil, and on and on.

Someone fell for it.

 

[PeacefulMuslim]

and who believes Obama?

 

[MisterHappy]

It may be no more of the stuff, but since they can keep what they have, it's no less, too.

 

[Varmint]

It may be no more of the stuff, but since they can keep what they have, it's no less, too.

They aren't getting Apache helicopters and bayonets, they're getting M4s, body armor, NV goggles and armored vehicles, none of which Obama is restricting. This is all for show, for shame on people for falling for it after 6 years of this idiot in the White House.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

No tracked vehicles, no .50 cal or higher arms, no grenade launchers. Sounds like just a scratch on the surface of the problem.

And, LEs can still buy from private suppliers (according to the article).

Exactly. They need to change the mindset that the civilians are the enemy.

 

[blindfire]

Thanks for posting the article. Fox25 got it slightly wrong. They said that no guns or ammo ABOVE .50 cal. I'm like...what the hell is above .50 cal that the cops would even need. AAA guns????