Law enforcement agencies across Northwest Arkansas won't become more militarized in the wake of recent shootings that killed police officers in two states, officials said.
"Different places in the country have different problems," said Keith Foster, public information officer for the Rogers Police Department. "We are extremely fortunate to live in Northwest Arkansas. Great people live here, and the problems they're having in other places, we're not having here. I don't see us changing anything at all right now."
Weaponry
A sampling of standard issue weaponry at some Northwest Arkansas police departments.
Centerton: The city’s 18 full-time officers carry Glock sidearms and AR-15 rifles, Chief Cody Harper said.
Fayetteville: Uniformed officers carry a .40 caliber Glock 35, while nonuniformed officers carry a .40-caliber Glock 23C, which is a smaller handgun. Officers who are certified to use long guns are issued either a Remington 1100 12-gauge shotgun or an AR-15, Capt. William Brown said. Officers who are also members of the SWAT team carry their standard issued sidearm and an AR-15 when on SWAT duty, Brown said.
Rogers: Officers are armed with 9mm pistols and AR-15 rifles. They also have nonlethal weapons such as beanbag shotguns, stun guns and pepper spray, said Keith Foster, public information officer
Springdale: Patrol officers are issued a standard 9mm Glock pistol sidearm and either a shotgun or M-16A1. Springdale has 143 officers, but not every officer is issued a long gun, said Derek Wright, public information officer.
Source: Staff report
New York City Police acquired $7 million in military-style protective equipment for patrol officers, including 20,000 military-style helmets, 6,000 heavy duty bullet-resistant vests, trauma kits and ballistic doors and windows for patrol cars after police officers in Texas and Louisiana were killed last month, according to a Reuters report.
The shooting deaths of five officers in Dallas and three officers in Baton Rouge, La., came after the fatal police shootings of two black men, one in St. Paul, Minn., and the other in Baton Rouge.
Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan said he believes police need to be sufficiently equipped but also said training needs to be emphasized over weaponry.
"We want the police force to have the proper armament to keep the people protected, but we don't want to be like a military camp either," he said.
Federal programs allow certain surplus military equipment to be transferred to law enforcement agencies, providing equipment from guns to vehicles. Participation in these programs varies.
Sgt. Troy Reed with the Elkins Police said his department got three M-16 semiautomatic rifles through a surplus program, and he would like more military-grade equipment.
"It would be nice to have some of the same type of equipment the military uses, but we have to use what we have until the powers that be decide we need that equipment," Reed said.
Foster said Rogers Police obtained an armored vehicle about three years ago, but no weapons.
"We got a bunch of medical kits. At one point we got some old weapons -- they were old Vietnam-era rifles -- and they weren't really good, so we sent those back," he said. "I think the people are pretty comfortable with how we do things."
Mixed views
Community reaction varies when it comes to militarizing police departments, and President Barack Obama announced a ban last year on transferring some military weapons to police departments through surplus programs. The ban was a response to the militarized show of force by police in Ferguson, Mo., in the summer of 2014, during protests over the shooting death of Michael Brown.
"We've seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people a feeling like there's an occupying force," Obama said in May 2015. "We're going to prohibit some equipment made for the battlefield that is not appropriate for those police departments."
Arming police with advanced weaponry will not ease tensions between police and different cultures, said William Black, a Pine Bluff resident who will soon retire to the Fayetteville area.
"There's a lot more issues society-wise that need to be addressed without violence," Black said. "There's a lot more that needs to be fixed other than giving police an AK-47."
Black said he is pro-law enforcement; however, he said providing better education, jobs and opportunities to minorities and communication among each other is the best way to keep both police and community members safe.
"We need to come together," Black said. "We're all in this together."
Lindsey Chambers, a Fayetteville resident, regards Fayetteville Police as "top notch," saying they are well-trained and well-equipped. However, Chambers laments that police in other parts of the country have become too militarized.
"I'm old enough to have seen when police weren't SWAT teams patrolling the streets," he said. "They were friends and community service members who gave you directions."
Police have nonlethal weaponry but are generally too quick to escalate to lethal solutions, especially against black suspects, Chambers said.
"I think it's unfortunate that these black people are being killed disproportionately by the cops who are scared out of their wits and have hair-triggers," he said. "As soon as the red flag goes up, they shoot first and ask questions later. It's a symptom of being militarized."
Marguerite Leonard is a New York native who has lived in Fayetteville for the past 10 years. Leonard said she believes police need to be heavily armed.
"You can't have your populace more armed than your police," she said. "They're our brothers, fathers and neighbors, so you can't send them into harm's way."
However, police also need the best training and pay possible so the quality of officers is consistently high, Leonard said.
Most local departments get very few items through surplus programs, but area officers are still well-armed. Standard issue firearms for many Northwest Arkansas departments include handguns, shotguns and AR-15 style rifles.
Government weapon suppliers
Various Northwest Arkansas departments use a pair of state programs to get weapons and other equipment: The Federal Surplus Property program and the Arkansas Law Enforcement Support Office Program.
The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management's Federal Surplus Property program is governed by the General Services Administration, which acquires property the federal government has declared surplus and allows eligible organizations such as police departments to use them.
Whitney Green, public information officer for the Department of Emergency Management, said weapons are provided on an "on-loan" basis. They don't own the weapons, so the federal government could in theory ask for them back any time, she said.
Numerous weapons provided by the Federal Surplus program are in use across the state, including three 9mm Colt SMG rifles loaned to the Bentonville Police Department and three .223-caliber H&K Model 33 rifles loaned to the Lowell Police Department. The program has 276 weapons on loan across the state, Green said.
To acquire weapons or equipment from the federal program, which has a warehouse in Little Rock, a police department must send a letter of intent explaining for what the item will be used. Green said departments can only get one gun per paid, full-time officer.
The letter of intent is then filed with the state government and sent to General Services Administration, which approves or denies the request. The program in Arkansas has not seen an increase in weapons requests since the fatal shootings of the officers in Texas and Louisiana, Green said.
The Arkansas Law Enforcement Support Office Program is part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The Support Office, which is part of the Arkansas Department of Career Education, manages the distribution of weapons from the U.S. Department of Defense, said Charisse Childers, director of the Career Education.
"We are the entity that is accountable for all transfers of property from the Department of Defense to law enforcement agencies around the state," she said.
The weapons are loaned from the Department of Defense to law enforcement agencies, Childers said.
"They have the weapons on a temporary basis," she said.
State law enforcement agencies have acquired $36.5 million worth of equipment through the program.
The Support Office Program has costs. Law enforcement agencies must pay a fee equal to 3 percent of the acquired property's value or an annual fee based on department size, ranging from $250 to $2,000 per agency.
Derek Wright, public information officer for the Springdale Police Department, said the department has participated in the program since 2002 and gets many items from guns to gear.
Pros and cons
Wright said the support program makes many items more affordable.
Springdale police acquired 48 M-16A1 rifles, converted to semiautomatic firing, through the Arkansas Law Enforcement Support Office. They were more affordable than purchasing AR-15 semiautomatic rifles from a weapons dealer, Wright said.
He did not have a specific price at which the M-16A1 rifles were purchased but said AR-15 rifles would have cost $1,500 to $2,000 per rifle.
Fayetteville Police Chief Greg Tabor said there are numerous reasons why Fayetteville Police have not pursued military surplus weapons.
"First, typically the stuff is used, so you have those issues, and you don't have a warranty or anything like that," he said. "Second, there's a lot of red tape, and third, there's that negative perception of military surplus in law enforcement, that you're militarizing your law enforcement."
However, there are exceptional situations when more advanced equipment is needed, Tabor said.
"Thank God they're far and few between, and we have those conversations semiregularly," he said.
Tabor recalled an incident in which his department relied upon Springdale Police and their armored truck to confront an armed man at a local motel.
"We used the vehicle as a way to approach the room without having to get out in the open," he said.
Centerton Police do not have any government-provided weapons or equipment. Chief Cody Harper has no interest in acquiring surplus weapons, which he said may have been used in military combat.
"Some of the stuff you get from the military is well, well-used," Harper said.
Centerton Police once had a government-provided Humvee that was transferred to another agency just more than a year ago, he said.
Beyond guns
Wright said the 30 protective helmets Springdale Police got from the support program are used by SWAT team officers. Recent police shootings have not prompted Springdale Police to acquire more sophisticated gear.
"We have to be vigilant at all times, so I think we're going to continue doing what we've done and maintaining the best way to keep our community safe," Wright said.
Springdale Police also have an armored truck the department purchased in 2011, he said.
Fayetteville Police don't get weapons through Federal Surplus but do have a trailer on loan to assist in crime scene investigation, Capt. William Brown said.
The department obtained the trailer, which illuminates dark areas, from the surplus program at the beginning of the year, Brown said.
"We use it for crime scenes and accident scenes after dark," he said. "That, to my knowledge, is all we have gotten from the Federal Surplus program."
Elkins Police received weapons through the Support Office but does not have an armored vehicle. Department leaders would like one.
"If you have a situation where you need to have an armored vehicle, it would be nice to have one instead of something that has no protection whatsoever," Reed said.
NW News on 08/08/2016