#Maine police have been armed with nearly $10M worth of #military equipment

by Nick Schroeder, June 15th 2020

"A #Pentagon program has outfitted state and local law enforcement agencies in Maine with nearly $10 million worth of surplus #military equipment since its inception.

"A vast quantity of rifles, riot gear, armored vehicles, computers, night-vision scopes and cold-weather gear deemed surplus by the Department of Defense has been transferred to civilian law enforcement agencies across the U.S. through the federal Defense Logistics Agency. The program, known as the #1033program, has equipped campus police, Maine’s warden service and police departments in several small Maine towns with large concentrations of military-grade and tactical equipment.

"It’s alarmed advocates who warn against a creeping militarization of municipal police forces. Michael Kebede, a lawyer with the #ACLU of Maine, called the accumulation of military equipment 'disturbing.'

"Such 'weapons of war' have been used in drug searches and raids since the first Bush administration launched the 'War on Drugs' in the 1990s, Kebede said.

“'The primary targets tend to be black and Latino people,' he said.

"The Obama administration restricted the 1033 program in 2014 after law enforcement agencies in #Ferguson, Missouri, deployed armored vehicles and other equipment obtained through it to suppress #AntiRacist uprisings after police shot and killed Michael Brown. The #Trump administration reversed those restrictions in August 2017, after heavy police union lobbying."

#StopCopCity #StopCopCitiesEverywhere #DemilitarizeThePolice #StopFascism #Racism #WarOnDrugs #WarOnCitizens

Read more:
https://wgme.com/news/local/maine-police-have-been-armed-with-nearly-10m-worth-of-military-equipment