Repurposing military gear for the homefront

By Nathan Mayberg
Following last summer’s police shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man in Ferguson, MO by a white police officer, the nation witnessed one of the more militarized police responses to protests in the streets.

Protesters in the streets of a St. Louis suburb were met by police in heavy armor with assault rifles and backed by armored vehicles. Tear gas, pepper spray and rubber pellets were fired into the crowd.

The scene was repeated in December after a grand jury declined to indict police officer Darren Wilson on murder charges.

After the August incidents, President Barack Obama ordered a review of the way local police departments use federal grants and other programs to acquire military-grade weapons and equipment.

In December, Obama issued an executive order designed to make the programs more accountable.

Over the past five years, approximately 460,000 pieces of military-type of equipment has been give to police departments across the country through federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense.

Among the more common programs used by local police departments is a military surplus loan program through the Department of Defense, which allows departments to loan the surplus equipment at no cost.

That equipment can include automatic weapons, mine-resistant vehicles, aircraft, Humvees and night-vision equipment.

Participating local departments have obtained automatic and semi-automatic guns and a couple Humvees. None of the weapons have been fired in the line of duty, although the Humvees have been deployed during hurricanes and snow storms.

The majority of police agencies do not use the military surplus program. Many of the chiefs, captains or spokespeople said they were confident with the equipment they already have.

Here’s a rundown of those department that are using the program:

West Milford, N.J.The West Milford Police Department has six automatic M-16 guns and six shotguns that it obtained through the Department of Defense’s loan program more than 10 years ago, Chief Tim Storbeck said. Storbeck was appointed chief in 2012.

The weapons are used by members of the department’s special operations teams during high-risk warrant arrests or in situations where somebody has barricaded themselves, Storbeck said.

The officers haven’t had to shoot them in live situations. Members of the special operations team are required to train with the weapons twice a year, he said.

The shotguns are pump-style while the automatic M-16’s are Vietnam-era.

The department will eventually return them to the department when it is deemed they are not necessary or if the department decides to replace them.

As part of the requirements of the program, department personnel must inventory them each year, take pictures of the serial numbers and maintain them. That can include replacing parts.

The department once had a one-ton diesel pickup truck which is “no longer serviceable,” Storbeck said.

He would like to replace that truck at some point in order to move trailers and other equipment such as ATV’s used in search and rescue operations.

The department once used a pickup truck through the program but the floor and frame rotted out.

Pasaic County, N.J.According to records kept by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, the Pasaic County Sheriff’s Department has 20 M-16’s through the surplus program. Messages left with a spokesman to Pasaic County Sheriff Richard Berdnick, were not returned.

Village of Chester, N.Y. Village of Chester Police Chief Peter Graziano Jr. said the Hummer is essentially a four-wheel pickup truck with a cap.

The Hummer was deployed during Superstorm Sandy and during a search and rescue mission for a missing homeless man. The man was found dead in the woods, Graziano said.

“If we got the snow we were supposed to,” the Hummer probably would have been used this week, Graziano said.

The Hummer was acquired through an application process to the Department of Defense.

It’s essentially a free loan program, Graziano said. If the Department of Defense ever wants it back, Chester will return it. There is no charge for the vehicle.

Village of Goshen, N.Y.Village of Goshen Police Department Chief James Watt said his department of 20 officers acquired a Humvee from the Department of Defense about a year ago and recently received six .308 semiautomatic rifles.

The Humvee has been used by the department for medical transports and during snowstorms.

The department “had it out for the anticipating snowpocalypse,” Watt said. But ultimately didn’t utilize the vehicle.

Watt anticipates using the high-axle Humvee in bad weather such as flooding or bad snowstorms.

The rifles would be used in an emergency where there was a “long-range” shooting situation, Watt said.

The department also has shotguns.

Previous participantByram Police Department Chief Raymond Rafferty said his department partook in the department in the past for some four-wheel vehicles but didn’t utilize any of the type of weapons that have been publicized in the media and received attention over the past several months.

Rafferty, who has been chief for about 10 years, said the department hasn’t received any equipment through the program for more than 10 years.

“If we had a need, we would use it,” he said. “At this point, our needs have not risen to a point to get anything from them.” The agencies that do not participate in the military surplus program do so for a variety of reasons, but most chiefs said they were confident with the equipment they already have. Town of Newton Police Police Chief Michael Richards said his department hasn’t taken part in the military surplus program. “I can’t say I’ve been made aware of anything that seems of use to us,” he said. In a case where there was a high-risk situation that required a special operations unit, Richards said the state police would be called in. In a shooting situation, state police would be called in with armored vehicles, he said. “Sometimes, there is a need for that kind of stuff,” Richards said. A Denville man pleaded guilty in December to a 2013 shooting in which he used an assault rifle to shoot a man through a door. Richards said such a weapon would pierce through the department’s own armor. “There are needs for increased armored ability,” he said. Generally, in such situations, the state police are called, he said. Sparta Police Lt. John Beebe said his department doesn’t use military surplus equipment. “We have no need for military surplus,” he said. “This is Sparta Township.” Vernon Township Police Lt. Brian Jernick said his department doesn’t utilize the military surplus program, either, although he said the department would be interested in tactical bulletproof vests. Otherwise, “there are not many things we can really use,” he said. Town of Hardyston Police “We’re equipped adequately,” Lt. Robert Zicarelli said. The department doesn’t utilize any type of equipment, armor or vehicles through the surplus program. His department, like most in the region, employ .40 caliber Glock handguns. New York State Police What some departments don’t realize, State Police Capt. Brendan Casey said, is that the Department of Defense equipment is “used. It’s surplus. There is usually some issues.” While the equipment is given free, departments have to care for, catalogue and maintain it, he said. “It’s more trouble than it’s worth,” Casey said. Plus, if there is a disaster or weather emergency like the blizzard that had been predicted for the area this week, the State Police can get Humvees or other rescue vehicles “with greater ground clearance” from the National Guard, Casey said.