The powers that be on Capitol Hill are starting to wake up to the dangers of militarized police forces across the country, and the author of "Police State USA: How Orwell’s Nightmare is Becoming Our Reality," says it's about time.
"The fact that Republicans and Democrats seem equally outraged at the growing threat from military-outfitted police riding armored vehicles through the streets of America’s communities is heartening," said Cheryl Chumley, in a commentary on the issue on Tuesday.
"Nonpartisanship is a good thing, in this case, because it means the congressional talk may not be simply political talk. Action and reform could result," she wrote.
Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., also said the move was "long overdue."
A hearing titled "Oversight of Federal Programs for Equipping State and Local Law Enforcement" was held before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Key senators noted the discord between the traditional role of law enforcement and what it has become in places such as Ferguson, Missouri.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who organized the hearing, expressed her "shock and sadness" over what transpired in Ferguson between the authorities and protesters. She hoped that the hearing, and others to come, would lead to better public policy that protects civil rights.
She found it "ironic" that while in Iraq, U.S. armed forces worked tirelessly to win the hearts and minds of the locals, but domestic police had become more militarized. The hearings revealed that views on a solution varied widely.
Alan Estevez, deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, believes that the 1033 program, through which military equipment is delivered to local police departments, had accomplished good things during its existence.
He noted just 4 percent of equipment given by the 1033 is "controlled." Controlled status is reserved for the more notorious 1033 equipment.
Keep up with the threats to your privacy, get "Police State USA: How Orwell's Nightmare is Becoming our Reality," as soon as you can.
He stressed that the Department of Defense was not well versed in local policing, and relied heavily upon state coordinators to determine the equipment acquisitions of law enforcement .
Together with Brian Kamoie of FEMA, and Karol Mason from the Department of Justice, he admitted that changes were due in the areas of coordination and law enforcement training.
How involved the federal government should be in those changes was likely to be a matter of contention. Committee Democrats appeared pleased that the White House was reviewing the 1033 program.
This approach displeases Chumley.
"I don't think we need the federal government encroaching on local police. That's just another bureaucratic disaster waiting to happen. It's too early to tell what direction the senators actually want to take to rein in police powers – but the fact that it's a top-heavy approach that they're discussing is something that raises a red flag."
At the hearing, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., echoed Chumley’s concerns.
He demanded to know why mine resistant vehicles were up for grabs by law enforcement. He also inquired whether any equipment had been successfully used to counter domestic terror.
Among the three witnesses, only the Boston Marathon bombing and the failed Times Square bombing were specifically named. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., wanted local communities to decide what their police forces needed, and believed that the mere presence of free militarized equipment has proved dangerously alluring.
At the conclusion of his questioning, Coburn said that “we need a relook” at programs like 1033. Chumley hopes that the solution will include local concerns.
"I would much rather see reform of police departments start at the local levels of government – generated by individuals in the community, who then petition their local boards of supervisors and city councils to draft new ordinances that guide and shape their local police departments. That approach, to me, seems the more constitutional route, and protects local and state governments from an ever-encroaching federal government."
"Police State USA" chronicles how America got to the point of being a de facto police state, what led to it, and how the nation might return to the free state envisioned by the Founding Fathers.
Mike Huckabee calls the book "fascinating, very timely, and I hope that Americans take it up and read it."
Keep up with the threats to your privacy, get "Police State USA: How Orwell's Nightmare is Becoming our Reality," as soon as you can.
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