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Massachusetts Suspends Weapons Program
Officials pledge new review for powerful guns
The state Department of Public Safety yesterday suspended a controversial program that distributes high-powered US military weapons to police departments across the state, amid growing concerns with the scale of guns handed out and the lack of oversight involved.
Terrel Harris, spokesman for the department, said yesterday that the program will remain suspended until the completion of a thorough review looking at the way it is run, the weapons involved, and the communities that get them.
"We want to see who has what, and if what they have is appropriate," Harris said. "I can't say what we're going to end up doing, but we'll take a top to bottom look at it, to make sure it's running efficiently and effectively."
The suspension, ordered by Governor Deval Patrick, follows a Globe review that shows 82 local police departments in Massachusetts have obtained more than 1,000 military grade weapons over the last 15 years, far more than previously revealed. Under the program, administered by the State Police, departments can apply for equipment declared surplus by the US military.
But a Globe review has found that even the most quiet of hamlets have received high-powered weaponry, including M-16 fully automatic machine guns and M-14 semiautomatic rifles. In West Springfield, police received two military issue, M-79 grenade launchers.
In most cases, the departments obtained the weaponry without any type of community or legislative input.
The review shows that some departments received weapons in excess of federal guidelines. Among the rules for the approval was that no department was supposed to receive more than two rifles for every 10 full-time officers.
Yet records show some departments exceeded that limit. For instance, Marblehead received eight M-16s, even though it has 30 full-time officers.
Meanwhile, the review found the military surplus program lacks follow-up monitoring or oversight. A State Police civilian has been running the program since its lead coordinator, a State Police lieutenant colonel, retired three years ago. In some cases, the state has not enforced requirements that the arms be put to use within a year or returned to the military. And, the state failed to renew its contract with the federal government to oversee distribution of the weapons. Dave Procopio, spokesman for the State Police, said that the staff that runs the surplus program plans to meet with state officials as part of the review, "to perhaps see what changes should be made in the future. It's the beginning of a process . . . to determine how we can make it a more effective program."
He said the contract that expired three years ago was more of a memorandum of understanding between the program coordinator and the federal government on policy rules and regulations. Since the coordinator retired, the civilian employee - who had already been working under the program coordinator - followed the same memorandum. He expects a new memorandum will be forged with the appointment of a new coordinator. Harris said the state review will look at the way the program is being administered and by whom, including whether any certification is needed. It will also include a retroactive look at what communities have received, and whether the awarding of the weapons was appropriate.
"These are military weapons, these are not civilian weapons that we're dealing with," Harris said.
Local police officials have defended their requests for the weapons, citing the need to be prepared for disastrous events that can occur in any city or town, such as the 1999 shooting rampage at Columbine High School. In Boston, interest grew in the program after terrorists armed with automatic weapons and grenades killed 166 people last November in Mumbai. Police have said that the weapons will be used by specialized units. The grenade launchers in West Springfield, for instance, would be used for shooting tear gas canisters in crowd-control or hostage situations. Any assault rifle used by a patrol commander would be kept in a case in the trunk of a police cruiser.
John M. Collins, general counsel for the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, said yesterday that the departments who have received the weapons are trying to emphasize how "helpful, how safe, how worthwhile these weapons are."
"The best weapon you have is the one you never have to use," he said. "Unfortunately, it's become a political issue . . . the time for people to understand that is when we need them the most, and when they won't be available."
In Boston, a proposal to use M-16 rifles, functioning as a semi-automatic weapon, was rejected by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who said the weapon should only be used in specialized units and not in neighborhood patrols. The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority's police squad shelved plans to use semiautomatic rifles after concerns were raised with providing heavy weaponry to officers who patrol crowded bus and train stations.
State Senator Stephen M. Brewer, vice chairman of the Legislature's joint committee on public safety and homeland security, said yesterday that he would welcome the review.
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12 Comments so far
Show Allbloody future, indeed...
I believe that this goes against the current thinking, but it seems that for the past 20 years, police departments have more and more thought of themselves as a military organization, I suppose that it's due to all the talk of the war against this or that (war on drugs etc), and the rank structure (Sgt. Lt. Capt. etc). Many departments now allow their officers to wear fatigues rather than a regular uniform, further bring in the mindset that they're not cops but soldiers.
Given that mindset, and the thoughts that ALL the criminals are better armed, (in some high profile cases the criminals ARE better armed, certainly most criminal gangs are), it's no wonder that the police have decided to take whatever military weapons they are offered.
However, we should never loose sight of the intent why a police department was formed. It's a Civilian authority, which keeps the peace, enforces laws, and provides other government functions (taking insurance reports, etc) and only operates with the consent of those that employ it, it is NOT an autonomous entity that uses military might to force compliance with laws, although at times it seems that way. Police are peacekeepers, not soldiers, just as soldiers are not peacekeepers, (no matter what the government tells us).
"...in the United States, between four and six people die every day because they encounter police. That’s through beatings, shootings, high speed chases, and medical neglect in jails and prisons.”
Warning- Long-ish article:
http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2007/05/28/why-people-hate-cops/
Good article.
police are rarely on hand when truly emergent events occur...perhaps another model could be found for maintaining a peaceful community...changing some existing laws would go a long way...
Re dubet June 16th, 2009 2:04 pm, who notes
"police are rarely on hand when truly emergent events occur...perhaps another model could be found for maintaining a peaceful community...changing some existing laws would go a long way..."
Yes. Allow us to defend ourselves. A criminal's best friend is severe restriction of gun ownership.
Nothing was said about training, a serious omission.
I think it is past time to give police departments tactical nuclear weapons. "We probably will never have to use them" an anonymous police trainee said, "but you need to be prepared for any contingency. They could be kept in a case in the trunk of a police van, locked of course." One police department has ordered two tanks which can be shrink-wrapped in plastic. They wouldn't fit in the trunk of a car, but would be kept in a secret location. Boston police have been looking into getting a nuclear powered navy surplus submarine in the event of a terrorist invasion by sea. "We don't know what the terrorist navy is up to, nor what their capability is at this time, but we need to be prepared for all contingencies," said a secretary in the Boston police department who asked that his name not be used. One young officer in training speculated that some aircraft drones would be a good thing to consider acquiring, especially since they can be guided into schools where a seige might be taking place and no police officer would be put in harm's way. "Its an exciting time to be a police officer," said one policeman who is retiring next year. "I wish I was young again."
At a police dog-and-pony show for the public a few years back, I asked how the use of the AR-15/M-16 class of weapons was compatible with use in civilian environments, given that what a bullet would do was completely unreliable. It may tear the target to pieces, or it might ricochet randomly. The SWAT officer replied to the effect that they do not have that problem because they use ammo banned by the Geneva convention.
The scary thing is full auto, since after the first bullet the rest go off in an uncontrolled direction. It is common in a multiple police shooting (i.e. dozens of rounds) for about 1/2 or more rounds to miss the target, and that is with semi-auto fire.
In LA, the number of assault weapons in the hands of the LAPD was greatly increased after a robbery by well armed people using body armor ended up in a shootout in Northridge. The LAPD claimed to be outgunned, but failed to find the obvious solution: big-game rifles, with a slow rate of fire and limited magazine capacity, but high powered. (Once the suspects were in custody, medical care for a badly wounded suspect was prevented until the suspect died from his wounds.)
The tactical "need" for police to have assault rifles can only be to kill large numbers of people at once, such as at a public demonstration against the government or police.
fuck the police
Although I recognize the need for police to have higher grade weapons to match the outlaws and to meet certain emergency cases, the problem here is that police work is often done in the midst of populated areas where the high power rifles and granade launchers are not suitable weapons for that environment. For example, a rifle bulllet can easily go through house walls and cars and can also go through human bodies to kill others. The other concern that I have is that many police personnel lack the training that the army personnel have. I shared a pistol range at times with policemen, and some of them are not better than beginners.
A better choice of weapons for the police can be made that would both increase their firepower and yet protect the public. For exmaple, the Iseaeli Uzie submachine gun can be set to fully automatic when necessary, yet more suitable of use in urban areas than the high power military rifles.
This case needs more study and the fact that there are surplus army rifles doesn't mean that they should go to the police.