Trump Would Overturn Ban On Police Using Military Weapons ‘In A Heartbeat’

GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has vowed to reverse a ban on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) 1033 Program, which had allowed for police departments to acquire military equipment from the federal government.

In May 2015, President Barack Obama placed a ban on Program 1033, which had been in place since 1996. The program allowed for local police departments to procure body army and armored vehicles from the armed forces, according to Buzzfeed News.

On July 29, Trump stated that he would lift the ban during an interview with Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, according to CBS News journalist Sopan Deb, who posted an excerpt of their conversation on Twitter.

Sheriff Clarke blasted the Obama administration’s relationship with police departments, stating “in my 38 years in law enforcement, I have never seen a more anti-police White House than this current one.”

The Milwaukee sheriff asked Trump if he would rescind Obama’s executive order within his first 100 days in office.

“I would do that in a heartbeat,” Trump replied. “I thought it was ridiculous and I think the whole concept is ridiculous of what they did.”

Program 1033 has become controversial amid nationwide outrage over local police using military equipment to handle crowd situations. President Obama’s executive order was spurred by complaints of local police responding to protests against the shootings of unarmed African Americans with military-style gear and tear gas.

One critic has been United Nations (UN) special reporter Maina Kiai, who surveyed protesters, law enforcement and lawmakers in 10 different U.S. cities over 17 days.

On July 27, Kiai posted his preliminary findings, deeming that police across the country have been overly aggressive with protesters, according to Mother Jones.

Kiai wrote that the 1033 Program had “caused serious harm to the practice of an thinking about management of crowds… Protesters are not war enemies.”

Several law enforcement officials have pushed back against accusations that the 1033 Program had transformed them into a hostile presence in their communities. Following an attack in Louisiana that left three local police officers dead, Baton Rouge Chief of Police Carl Dabadie defended the military arming of the police force, NPR reports.

“We’ve been questioned for the last three or four weeks about our militarized tactics and our militarized law enforcement,” Dabadie said. “This is why. Because we are up against a force that is not playing by the rules… They didn’t play by the rules in Dallas and they didn’t play by the rules here.”

Sources: Buzzfeed News, Mother Jones, NPR, Sopan Deb/Twitter / Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr