The Associated Press
A man is arrested as police try to disperse a crowd Aug. 20, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo.
Monday, Dec. 1, 2014 | 2 a.m.
The latest developments
President Barack Obama ordered a review of the 1033 Program after the widespread attention and criticism it received during protests in Ferguson, Mo.Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson also drafted the “Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act,” which would ban the transfer of armored vehicles, aircraft, flashbangs and certain automatic weapons to civilian agencies and blacklist departments that fail to account for all of the equipment they receive.
Through a process known as the 1033 Program, agencies across the United States can get anything from a pair of boots to a working helicopter, and all they have to pay for is shipping and maintenance. Items are new and unused or refurbished military equipment.
The program came under fire in August after police in Ferguson, Mo., responded to demonstrators protesting the police shooting of an unarmed teenager by rolling into the area in armored vehicles and dressed in military-grade combat gear. It’s likely the equipment came through the 1033 Program.
Law enforcement agencies say the program puts useful tools into the hands of officers and saves taxpayer money. They also say officers undergo training to ensure the equipment is used safely. Opponents say much of the equipment, which police departments request, has no place among the general public.
How the program began
Passed during the height of the War on Drugs, Section 1208 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 1990 made it possible for military surplus to be transferred to local law enforcement.
The law came with two stipulations: Equipment had to be surplus and had to consist of items that could reasonably be used to fight illegal drug crime.
In 1997, the section was renamed 1033 and expanded to include use for any law enforcement activity. Priority is given to agencies that request the equipment for counterterrorism and drug-enforcement purposes.
Today, the 1033 Program is used by more than 8,000 agencies across the country, according to the Defense Logistics Agency, which administers it.
It can be abused
In 2012, an investigation of the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office by the Arizona Republic found that the department had transferred surplus equipment to non-police agencies and was planning to auction off more items.
The Pentagon responded by ordering a nationwide review of the program and requiring more stringent tracking of where equipment goes.
Since then, the federal government has taken action against 184 agencies that failed to account properly for equipment. Those agencies were banned from receiving further equipment, although many were allowed to keep what they already had.
One of those agencies was the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, run by controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Before being banned from the program, the department had amassed enough equipment to field a small army: 1,034 guns, 704 pairs of night-vision goggles, 64 armored vehicles and 17 helicopters, according to the ACLU.
In August 2014, the Arizona Republic reported the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office was missing nine guns. Arpaio downplayed the news and announced the department was able to purchase its own equipment.
What did it buy? Four hundred assault rifles and a .50-caliber machine gun powerful enough to shoot down aircraft and disable engine blocks.
Las VegasTotal value of equipment:
$3.8 million
$2.45 million
30 assault rifles, one mine-resistant vehicle
Cold-weather gear, one mine-resistant vehicle
$460,000
Weapons, armored truck
$700,000
A 2014 report by the ACLU argued that the 1033 Program effectively turned law enforcement into paramilitary forces.
“What we have seen all too often is that this equipment has been deployed offensively,” Southern Nevada ACLU Director Tod Story said.
The report found that SWAT teams had a tendency to use excessive force, arriving on quiet residential streets in armored vehicles with fully loaded automatic rifles and body armor, bashing down doors and screaming at residents.
A majority of SWAT deployments — around 62 percent, according to the ACLU — are for criminal drug searches.
“The question for every agency is, ‘What is the policy in place for the deployment of this equipment and its use in the field?’ ” Story said.
In Elko, police have used their mine-resistant vehicle twice this year for barricade situations. They say it helps protect the lives of officers.
But Story says such equipment produces an unintended side effect.
“If you are approaching people in the community with military equipment, it creates this unnatural power dynamic,” he said. “Those situations are going to be more volatile by nature of the equipment involved.”
Military makings?
A number of other Nevada agencies have made use of the 1033 Program but haven’t received nearly as much.
Humboldt, Lander and Lincoln county agencies got a combined 15 assault rifles.
The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office received a mine-resistant vehicle, as did the Winnemucca Police Department.
The rest of the state
Mesquite police received 38 assault rifles and a mine-resistant vehicle.
MesquiteTotal value of equipment:
Boulder City Police received 14 assault rifles.
Boulder City
The state agency received 11 .45-caliber pistols.
Nevada Department of Agriculture
Law enforcement in Nye County received 27 assault rifles and an armored truck.
Nye County
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Department has made extensive use of the surplus program, receiving two trucks, 30 assault rifles and two military grenade launchers.
Douglas CountyTotal value of equipment:
In addition to night-vision and cold-weather gear, Elko police received a mine-resistant vehicle for SWAT calls. In the past, the small town had been forced to use donated armored cars for its SWAT team, Elko Police Lt. Ty Trouten said.
“Coming from a smaller community like Elko, there’s just no way that’s going to be in the budgetary process,” Trouten said.
Elko
After Eduardo Sencion opened fire in 2011 in a Carson City IHOP, killing five people and wounding seven, local police put in an order with the 1033 Program for surplus assault rifles. Police have since received 30 assault rifles and a mine-resistant vehicle. They haven’t had to use it yet, Undersheriff Steve Albertsen said.
Normally fully automatic, the assault rifles were modified to be semi-automatic, Albertsen said, and officers have been required to complete mandatory weapons training.
Carson City
Law enforcement officers in the northern county have used the program extensively, receiving vehicles, weapons and high-tech equipment. The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office procured 83 M16 assault rifles, a Bell helicopter, cold-weather gear, night-vision and infrared equipment, and even a coffee maker.
Reno police got nine assault rifles, a mine-resistant vehicle and about $230,000 worth of night-vision gear.
Twenty more rifles went to Sparks police, school district police and the District Attorney’s Office.
Washoe CountyTotal value of equipment:
Metro Police received two Bell “Huey” search-and-rescue helicopters through the 1033 Program. The department also was given vehicle parts and search-and-rescue gear. Metro has received more than any other agency in the state.
Police in Henderson and North Las Vegas have not received anything.
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