New armored tank for town police sparks fear, anger

(BizPacReview) A war of words has broken out over police force in California getting a new armored vehicle built more for a state of war than patrolling in the Golden State.

The Salinas Police Department recently issued a news release proudly announcing the arrival of the armored truck built to survive minefield explosions, which it got compliments of federal taxpayers as part of a program to convert military equipment to law-enforcement use.

Police departments are acquiring major battlefield equipment that emboldens officials to strong-arm those they should be protecting. "Police State USA: How Orwell's Nightmare is Becoming our Reality" (Autographed) chronicles how we got to this point.

Critics took to the police department’s Facebook page to ask exactly why a city of 150,000 on the northern California coast really needs a vehicle designed for battlefield use. It’s more likely to be used against its own citizens, they said.

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