Graphs above from the Brennan Center's Report, Crime in 2017: A Preliminary Analysis [MORE]

From [MintPress] HOUSTON – In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, local Texas police are using the recovery efforts to justify the continued existence of a controversial program that critics argue strongly contributes to a dangerous trend of police militarization. According to the Houston Chronicle, local police agencies are arguing that excess military equipment they had received from the Pentagon through its controversial “1033” program allowed them to rescue people in areas they could not have reached otherwise. Federal data cited by the Chronicle showed that the greater Houston area has received more than $13 million in military equipment via the program since 2014.

“They tend to think that we’re militarizing ourselves. No, we’re not,” Sgt. Jimmie Cook of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office told the Chronicle. “We’re not looking for M16s. It’s useful gear that helps supplement our budget and it doesn’t cost the county anything except for the tank of gas to go pick it up.”

In photo, a race soldier cop in front of his Department issued mine resistant ambush protected vehicle, or MRAP.

While the Chronicle piece on the matter paints an overall rosy picture of how heavy military equipment is being used by Houston-area police – as well as its role in flood rescues — it also admits that much of the military equipment ended up not being used in flood rescues after all. The article notes that certain classes of military-grade vehicles were rendered ineffective for work in flood situations due to concerns about electrical wiring or due to department concerns that the vehicles could suffer damage that would render them useless in the future.

The article does not mention that non-military equipment and vehicles designed for use in flood zones could have been equally, if not more, effective in post-Harvey rescues. It also failed to explain how heavy weapons such as grenade launchers, body armor and powerful military-grade rifles – a larger portion of the items departments received than were the vehicles used in flood rescues – contribute to disaster-relief, as opposed to simply furthering the militarization of local police.

Despite the fact that war-zone vehicles and equipment were not necessarily as effective as local law enforcement suggested, a number of local departments are now clamoring to increase their stock of military-grade assets in Harvey’s wake. This, along with the positive tone in which the Chronicle article portrayed the program, caused critics to assert that the Harvey pretext is being used to justify a program that the  ACLU has argued pushes police to “wage war in our neighborhoods.”

The 1033 program generated nationwide controversy during protests in Ferguson, Mo. over police brutality. Then-President Barack Obama subsequently placed restrictions on the program, which have since been lifted under President Donald Trump. Critics of the 1033 program have long argued that the program has fueled the militarization of local police forces by giving them millions of dollars worth of military-grade equipment with little to no oversight regarding how the equipment is being used and without providing proper training to participating departments.

Though proponents argue that the program is a boon to local budgets — as local departments have to pay only the cost of picking up the supplies —  the ensuing militarization has increasingly resulted in an “us vs. them” attitude among police and has fomented increases in police-committed homicides and brutality. In many communities, the days of local police “protecting and serving” the residents seem to be over, having given way to militarized police who often engage in unnecessarily aggressive behavior enabled and incentivized by ever-growing weapon caches.

The 1033 program generated nationwide controversy during protests in Ferguson, Mo. over police brutality. Then-President Barack Obama subsequently placed restrictions on the program, which have since been lifted under President Donald Trump. Critics of the 1033 program have long argued that the program has fueled the militarization of local police forces by giving them millions of dollars worth of military-grade equipment with little to no oversight regarding how the equipment is being used and without providing proper training to participating departments.

Though proponents argue that the program is a boon to local budgets — as local departments have to pay only the cost of picking up the supplies —  the ensuing militarization has increasingly resulted in an “us vs. them” attitude among police and has fomented increases in police-committed homicides and brutality. In many communities, the days of local police “protecting and serving” the residents seem to be over, having given way to militarized police who often engage in unnecessarily aggressive behavior enabled and incentivized by ever-growing weapon caches. [MORE]