Obama restricts military gear for local police departments

President Barack Obama announced Monday that the federal government will no longer provide certain military weapons and equipment to local police departments. The move comes after a government task force

News 12 Staff

May 19, 2015, 2:08 AM

Updated 3,409 days ago

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President Barack Obama announced Monday that the federal government will no longer provide certain military weapons and equipment to local police departments.
The move comes after a government task force report found that police do not have proper training and are likely to misuse items like armored vehicles and high-powered rifles. The federal equipment program has come under national scrutiny after what many have characterized as a military-style response by police to protesters in Ferguson, Missouri last August. 
Fairfield Police Chief Gary McNamara says he isn't concerned by the president's decision.
"Given some of the focus on the concept law enforcement was becoming militaristic, I don't think this is a surprise to anybody," McNamara says. 
The ban does not include rescue vehicles used for disasters like floods that McNamara says local police couldn't afford on their own.
The ban prohibits the government from funding or providing armored vehicles that run on tracks instead of wheels, grenade launchers, high caliber weapons and ammunition and camouflaged uniforms, among other things.
"Some of that high-end stuff I don't think we need in the first place," McNamara says.