![]() ![]() So why have MRAPs and other heavy-duty equipment suitable for war zones proliferated in tiny towns and counties around the US? And how does the US Department of Defense have the money in these cash-strapped times to simply give $733,000 MRAPs to law enforcement agencies around the country for free? ![]() Commentators observe that the arming of law enforcement officials with military-grade weaponry, tanks, guns, grenade launchers, and other equipment often escalates tensions between the police and the public, endangering rather than protecting both groups. The Ferguson police have broken out their own BearCat, camouflage, short-barrel rifles, flashbangs, and other combat gear. The 11-foot tall armored vehicle, which was previously used by the US military in Afghanistan and is valued at $733,000, was given to the sheriff’s department for free, besides a $5,000 transportation charge.Īs protests continue over the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, attention is focusing on the militarization of American police departments. Like many law enforcement departments around the country, the Story County Sheriff’s Office earlier this year acquired an MRAP – a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, designed to survive IEDs and mine attacks. They dress up in little Scandinavian outfits and dance in the street at our yearly town festival.Ĭute, right? Now that you’ve got that in your mind, picture what's below rolling out from around the corner. Kids still ride their bikes by themselves to the pool in the summer and carry their skates down to the pond in the winter. ![]() When I recently drove through it on a hot summer day, the only noises were insects buzzing above cornfields, and distant splashes and screams of delight from the public pool. My hometown is an idyllic place, a sleepy town of 3,500 set among the cornfields of Story County, Iowa. ![]()
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