WASHINGTON -- Police departments will soon have access to grenade launchers, high-caliber weapons and other surplus U.S. military gear after President Donald Trump signed an order Monday reviving a Pentagon program that civil-rights groups say inflames tensions between officers and their communities.
President Barack Obama had sharply curtailed the program in 2015 amid an outcry over the heavily armed police response to protesters after several police killings of black men in Ferguson, Mo., and other cities. The Trump administration maintains the program is needed to protect public safety and support state and local police.
Restoring the program will "ensure that you can get the lifesaving gear that you need to do your job," Attorney General Jeff Sessions told a cheering crowd at a national convention of the Fraternal Order of Police in Nashville, Tenn. The group, America's largest organization of rank-and-file officers, endorsed Trump for president after he promised to revamp the program.
Sessions said restrictions imposed by Obama went too far. "We will not put superficial concerns above public safety," he said.
Civil liberties groups and some lawmakers assailed Trump's order as a sign of the militarization of local police, arguing that the equipment encourages and escalates violent confrontations with officers.
"Tensions between law enforcement and communities remain high, yet the president and the attorney general are giving the police military-grade weaponry instead of practical, effective ways to protect and serve everyone," said Kanya Bennett, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., called the plan a dangerous expansion of government power that would "subsidize militarization."
Another Republican, U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina, said the program "incentivizes the militarization of local police departments, as they are encouraged to grab more equipment than they need."
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Sanford recalled traveling to a small South Carolina county when he was governor and finding a sheriff taking helicopter lessons because, Sanford noted, the jurisdiction had "pulled about seven copters" thanks to the federal program.
"This makes my blood boil," he said, from "both a taxpayer standpoint and a civil liberties standpoint."
In Newberry County, S.C., Sheriff Lee Foster said his department wouldn't be able to afford equipment like night-vision goggles or ballistic helmets on its own. His deputies wouldn't need body armor or riot shields daily, he said, but the items could save their lives.
"I don't know of any police officer that would roam around with a Kevlar helmet on his head during routine situations," Foster said. "The right to have access to this stuff doesn't mean you've militarized your agency."
Law enforcement officials in Arkansas praised the program on Monday, saying the effort saves taxpayers money while providing life-saving equipment to law enforcement agencies.
Lt. Chris Ameling, spokesman for the Pulaski County sheriff's office, said the need for military-style vehicles has been seen in Texas, where waters from Tropical Storm Harvey have flooded communities. Military-style vehicles are able to drive into flooded areas and save people's lives, something normal vehicles would not be able to do, he said.
In a statement released Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas condemned the move by Trump, urging local law enforcement to refuse participation in the program.
"Weapons of war have no place in our neighborhoods or in the hands of local police officers, especially when the federal government provides no oversight or accountability for this inventory or its usage," said Rita Sklar, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas.
Congress authorized the program in 1990, allowing police to receive surplus equipment to help fight drugs, which then gave way to the fight against terrorism. Agencies requested and received everything from camouflage uniforms and bullet-resistant vests to firearms, bayonets and drones. More than $5 billion in surplus equipment has been given to agencies.
Obama put limits on the program in 2015, partly triggered by public outrage over the use of military gear during protests in Ferguson, Mo., after the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Police responded in riot gear and deployed tear gas, dogs and armored vehicles. At times, they also pointed assault rifles at protesters. The Justice Department under then-Attorney General Eric Holder blamed the militarized response for exacerbating tensions with the community.
Obama's order prohibited the government from providing grenade launchers, bayonets, tracked armored vehicles, weaponized aircraft and vehicles, and firearms and ammunition of .50-caliber or greater to police.
That frustrated some law enforcement groups who see the gear as needed to protect officers responding to active shooter calls and terrorist attacks. An armored vehicle played a key role in the police response to the December 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif.
The Defense Logistics Agency, which manages the program, recalled at least 138 grenade launchers, more than 1,623 bayonets and 126 tracked vehicles -- those that run on continuous, tank-like tracks instead of wheels. The agency declined to comment Monday, saying it had not yet received information on the order.
The program has also come under sharp criticism for weak controls and poor oversight.
In July, a report by the Government Accountability Office said an investigator set up a phony police department and, with fake identification, was able to pick up $1.2 million worth of equipment from Defense Logistics Agency warehouses without any trouble -- including night vision goggles and fake pipe bombs used in training.
The report called on the Defense Logistics Agency to improve its internal controls, saying it "lacked reasonable assurance that it has the ability to prevent, detect, and respond to potential fraud and minimize associated security risks."
Information for this article was contributed by Sadie Gurman, Erik Schelzig, Meg Kinnard and David Lieb of The Associated Press; by Adam Goldman of The New York Times; by Joseph Tanfani of Tribune News Service; and by Ryan Tarinelli of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
A Section on 08/29/2017