Tank And Riot – “The previous Administration was more concerned about the image of law enforcement being too ‘militarized’ than they were about our safety,” said Fraternal Order of Police president Chuck Canterbury in a press release responding to the rollbacks.
Hartung of the Center for International Policy said he thinks U.S. police departments “have no legitimate need for this equipment, which has been used in war zones from Iraq to Afghanistan to Yemen. … These are weapons of war that should have no place in domestic law enforcement.”
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The U.S. Department of Defense’s 1033 Program, which allows for the transfer of surplus military equipment to law enforcement agencies, was created as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 1997. Under the program, law enforcement agencies can acquire big-ticket items such as
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MRAPs and guns, but also office supplies and rescue equipment. In the past, U.S. lawmakers have periodically attempted to curtail law enforcement access to military-style gear through hearings and proposed legislation. The recent wave of protests has prompted some members of Congress to re-examine transfers of military weaponry.
Some of the vehicles seen in protest videos were not obtained via the 1033 program. In Walnut Creek, Calif., near San Francisco, police used a military-style vehicle that was not obtained via the program to help disperse protesters.
Officers also threw tear gas. The incident came after objects had been thrown at the police and an officer suffered unspecified injuries. Two protesters also suffered unspecified injuries, including one bitten by a police dog. The police department issued a statement that it is investigating the incident over the use of force against protesters.
“We have very strict policies about its use,” he said. “It will not be used in a civil response,” like for protests. Connolly termed this “the Ferguson rule” — trying to avoid inflaming a protest by placing the vehicles near non-violent marches.
A Twitter poster who recorded one of the vehicles that day being driven along a street had expressed outrage. Paulus, 20, said she expected to see police at the May 29 protest but not the large vehicles that had arrived on the scene.
The college student posted a video on Twitter showing law enforcement driving an MRAP past a crowded street. U.S. Senators Rand Paul, R-Ky., Brian Schatz, D-Hi., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., announced Wednesday that they were reintroducing the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act, which was originally brought forward in 2015. The bill
calls for banning what is deemed as “offensive equipment” — such as armored vehicles and drones — as well as creating a database showing what gear has been acquired by law enforcement agencies across the U.S.
Tank Noodle’s associate manager, Thien Ly, posted an image of him sitting next to another man. Ly also posted a screenshot of a United Airlines boarding pass and wrote “Jan#6 Get Wild! #fightfortrump” as the caption for his Facebook post.
“We are trying to handle it at the lowest possible level, but our safety is paramount,” said detective Greg Wilking of the Salt Lake City Police Department. “I know what people think of when they see it, that it’s a military vehicle, but it’s really more of a shield vehicle.”
A half-dozen other departments contacted by NBC News about their policies for the use of military-style vehicles obtained via the 1033 program did not respond to requests for comment. Another department said the policy would only be provided via a freedom of information public records request.
In North Carolina, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office sent a BearCat, an armored rescue vehicle, to assist local law enforcement during protests in nearby Asheville. The office said the vehicle was obtained nearly 10 years ago through asset forfeiture funds.
“I just felt as if it was going to get worse — like they were going to start shooting actual bullets and killing people. That’s like, immediately of what my mind goes to,” said Kelsey Paulus, a Kent State University student who witnessed a
military-style vehicle approaches protesters during a protest against police violence in Canton, Ohio. In 2019, the revived program had one of its biggest years. About 15,750 military items were transferred to law enforcement, according to an NBC analysis of DLA data.
That was the second biggest year of the program, only surpassed by 17,000 distributed in 2012. “Record keeping is a huge problem with this program,” said Kenneth Lowande, assistant professor of political science at the University of Michigan, who has analyzed DLA 1033 data.
“From a researcher’s point of view, we don’t have accurate data prior to 2014.” “The vehicle was recently used in the City of Cincinnati during the protests after a few nights where unfortunately, some people took advantage of the peaceful protests and started [to] become more violent by looting businesses, possessing weapons, and shooting at police officers,
striking one in their ballistic helmet,” Rick Bley, the association’s president, told NBC News. Home | Episode 201 202 | 2005 Shows| 2006 Shows| 2007 Shows| 2008 Shows| 2009 Shows| 2010 Shows | 2011 Shows |
2012 Shows | 2013 Shows | 2014 Shows | 2015 Shows | 2016 Shows | 2017 Shows | 2018 Shows | 2019 Shows | E-mail If protesters are peaceful and only blocking a road, the vehicles would likely not be used and kept out of sight, said Goodrich.
If rocks or bottles are being tossed, or if a paramedic needs to get to an area where it may be unsafe, the vehicles might be used. The following year, President Obama issued an executive order limiting what type of equipment law enforcement could acquire from the federal government.
The list of prohibited items includes grenade launchers, weaponized aircraft and bayonets. MRAP vehicles were not banned, but departments were required to provide “expanded justification” for their use. When police deployed military-style equipment during the protests after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, critics said the gear added to friction between law enforcement and demonstrators, and could be an incitement to violence.
The Obama administration placed limits on the federal military surplus program, which had already supplied free gear, including MRAPs, to thousands of departments Welcome to Tank Riot! Tank Riot is a never dull audio podcast (a.k.a. netcast) that digs deep into the minds of Viktor, Sputnik, and Tor.
Recorded in tropical Madison, Wisconsin; each show starts you on a winding audio journey with a destination far from home. So secure your helmet, close the hatch, and by all means turn up the volume. NBC News has found at least 29 instances on social media and in news accounts where military-style vehicles that belong to local police departments have been used to confront protesters since Floyd’s death on May 25. At least 17 of the vehicles were deployed by police departments
that obtained mine-resistant vehicles (MRAPs) through a controversial Pentagon military surplus program launched in 1997 under President Clinton. The protests that followed Michael Brown’s death in 2014 yielded visuals of military-style vehicles and heavily armed law enforcement.
Attorney General Eric Holder said he was “deeply concerned” about the deployment of military equipment and vehicles in Ferguson. A well-loved Vietnamese restaurant Tank Noodle in Chicago sparked outrage after photos of the owners traveling to attend the Washington D.C.
riots surfaced online. How it started: On Jan. 5, the owners of Tank Noodle, also known as Pho Xe Tang, flew to Washington, D.C. for the riot that occurred on Jan. 6, according to Eater Chicago.
Several videos of military-style vehicles also emerged from protests in Denver, Colorado. The Denver Police said it had not received any vehicles from the 1033 program. The police department acknowledged using one white armored rescue vehicle, and it was purchased through other means.
The department said many of the other vehicles present were from assisting agencies. “Weapons of war don’t belong in our local police departments and should never be used against the American people,” said Schatz in a press release.
“This is not the only thing we need to do, but as we see our communities turning into what looks more like a war zone, it’s clear that we need to fix this.” “We’ve seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people the feeling like there’s an occupying force — as opposed to a force that’s part of the community that’s protecting them and serving them,” Obama said in a May 2015 visit to Camden, New Jersey
. Read Jennifer S.’s review of Tank Noodle on YelpRead Sheena F.’s review of Tank Noodle on YelpRead Vladimir G.’s review of Tank Noodle on Yelp”The business owner went to DC riot attack on US Capital, on Jan 6
, 2021! Will not be supporting terrorists trying to overthrow people’s government,” one of the reviews said. The Ly family released a statement on Tank Noodle’s Facebook page, writing that they were “deeply shocked, saddened, and offended” by the riots that took place last week.
They also claimed that none of their family members were involved in the insurrection. The City of Orange, Calif., has a military-style vehicle known as a BearCat that it purchased outside of the Pentagon program. Sgt.
Phil McMullin said the department deployed it to protests in nearby Garden Grove and Santa Ana. The decision to use the vehicle was in part because rocks, bottles and fireworks were thrown at the police during a protest in Anaheim.
He said the vehicles provide “efficient transportation” and helped police establish a “skirmish line” of police near protests, and decisions to deploy the vehicle are left to police commanders at the scene. The Aurora, Colo., Police Department said it had sent one of its armored vehicles — a vehicle not obtained via the 1033 program — to one of the protests in nearby Denver.
Detective Faith Goodrich, a spokesperson for the Aurora department, said decisions on protocol for using an armored vehicle are left to commanders at the scene. “They take a look at the situation and make a judgment,” she said.
“It is outrageous that the Pentagon is supplying armored vehicles to local police departments that have been used to intimidate peaceful protesters and abet violent police crackdowns,” said William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Program at the Center for International Policy, a left
-leaning foreign policy think tank. As for the police officer seen pushing an elderly man with a cane to the ground in a video shot by ABC affiliate KTVX, Wilking says a use of force investigation has been initiated and the officer has been removed from the public order unit.
The detective described the officer’s actions as “a lapse of judgment” and “a bit on the excessive side,” but said the majority of the department’s officers handled the situation appropriately. Police also told NBC News that the vehicles are often brought in to rescue individuals in the event of an active shooter and to enable law enforcement to carry more of its force in a single vehicle.
The video shows the vehicles in action. In Salt Lake City, an elderly man with a cane was knocked down by a police officer who had emerged from a heavily armored mine-resistant vehicle. In Philadelphia, one was used for police officers to hurl tear gas at protesters.
But the Trump administration lifted those barriers in 2017, and the distribution of military gear began to rise again. With the Floyd protests, experts — and some members of Congress — are again raising objections to the “militarization” of the police.
Emma Nehls is a military writer and historian with a passion for exploring the intricacies of warfare and the human experience within the military. With extensive knowledge and a deep understanding of military strategy, tactics, and historical contexts, Nehls brings a unique perspective to his writings.
