In the nearly twelve years that Disclosure has been in publication, one of the “mission statements” of the organization—from the very outset, in early 2003—was to let people know of “the implementation of the police state in order for the government to control we the people as it moves toward federalization/globalization.”
That mission statement is the first of many listed at Disclosure’s website and Facebook page. It is topmost on the list of national subjects Disclosure has repeatedly told the public about as one of the many threats to this nation’s well-being and continued existence as leader of the free world, along with other subjects of importance such as illegal immigration, economic collapse, new and emerging diseases and the hijacking of Americans’ civil rights.
That mission statement has never changed. In the ensuing years since its inception, Disclosure has gradually acclimated readers to the facts of militarized police, and what the ultimate goal of “leaders” in this country, seeking to change the face of how America runs and is being run, plan on doing with all police forces in the nation. There has been resistance: Some blindly refuse to believe that Officer Friendly is no more, and is being trained to be Officer Menacing. But the facts are there, and they are incontrovertible. References to “nationalized police force” are now being made in police training material; and young, inexperienced, lower-IQ people are being sought and given preferential treatment for police employment over older, seasoned, officers who are the last of the old “gentle, neighborhood cop” to which youngsters could run if they see trouble.
What’s developed since 9/11
Officer Friendly is no more. What has been developing in the years since September 11, 2001 is a brutal, unthinking, unyielding “Peace Officer” (NOT ‘police officer’) who does not ‘serve and protect’ the public, but is instead used by the corporations that hire them (all municipalities and states are incorporated, as are most counties) to “keep the peace” as a reactionary measure, not “police the town” as a preventative measure.
And if there’s no peace to keep, the officers trained to do so are now in many situations ensuring that the peace is disturbed, in order to “go in and ‘keep’ it.”
And nowhere has this notion been more abundantly clear after what happened in mid-August in Ferguson, Missouri, where a black man, after committing a strong-arm robbery, was shot dead in the street.
What matters now
What happened after that is immaterial as regards race, class, or who was right or wrong.
Because what happened after that was the call for militarized police from every conceivable department across Missouri to descend, along with the actual military in the form of the National Guard, on the community northwest of St. Louis proper for “controlling riots.” And once the ‘riots’ were quelled, all that remained were people peacefully protesting—as is their First Amendment right—but those, too, were people the militarized ‘peace officers’ were looking at quelling.
And this force, armed to the teeth with gear and weaponry of which the actual military would be envious, stayed on, causing problems within the protests and causing the protests to become a protest against the militarized police.
The issue of militarized police is its own problem. The fact that it has now come to public understanding just how MUCH the taxpayers are supporting this transition is another.
The support has come from the government itself, who, through programs like Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO), which puts itself forth to be a magnanimous giver of weapons and gear to needy law enforcement agencies around the country, has now been arming police to go into full battle…including armored battle vehicles.
But who are they going into battle against?
The lessons of Ferguson, Missouri, are now opening the public’s eyes as to who the enemy of the “peace officers” really are. They are protestors. They are journalists. And they ultimately could be peaceful, law-abiding citizens in their homes, against whom our greedy, power-mad government could suddenly decide to pass laws about gun ownership, certain practices and behaviors, that could become illegal and enable the latest pop-SWAT team to swoop down on and drag from a citizen’s home.
The “police state” isn’t a term used loosely in this publication. And Disclosure publisher Jack Howser’s and IT guy Chris Beavers’ foray to Ferguson prompted research for this article, about how programs like LESO are outfitting our police for war…and what we’re paying for to have it possibly come down on us.
An ‘eye-opener’
“Ferguson was an eye-opener,” Beavers said upon return from that foray. “We journalists were more likely to be targeted by the police then the protesters or even the looters.”
Upon that eye-opener, Beavers researched the Pentagon’s 1033 Program, which allows local law agencies to acquire surplus military hardware no longer needed by our military and was first authorized by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 1990, a military spending bill, as a way to help local law enforcement combat the widening “War on Drugs” that was the focus of the current administration.
The program now allows local police to acquire such things as armored military vehicles, aircraft, boats, medical supplies, computers and guns, among other items, in order to aid them in combating illegal activities for low costs or in some cases, no cost to law enforcement. Much of the equipment made available are items smaller agencies otherwise couldn’t afford to purchase.
Since then the program now has “few limitations and requirements” according to the American Civil Liberties Union. According to the program’s own website: “If your law enforcement agency chooses to participate, it may become one of the more than 8,000 participating agencies to increase its capabilities, expand its patrol coverage, reduce response times, and save the American taxpayer’s investment.” Most military surplus is due to the fact that combat forces have been withdrawn from Iraq and are soon withdrawing from Afghanistan, and are freeing up vast amounts of unused military equipment now up for grabs; or, have the burden to dispose of properly to ensure groups like ISIS do not end up with left-behind equipment to use against our military. Law enforcement agencies only have to pay for the cost of delivery and maintenance of these items.
Use it or lose it
The only real caveat to agencies asking for equipment is that those agencies must use that equipment or lose it. A clause pointed out by the ACLU in the Memoranda of Agreements between states requesting equipment and the regulatory agency in charge of awarding and distributing the equipment requires the recipient to “utilize property within one year or schedule its return.” The ACLU says this encourages an overuse of force to situations that would normally never call for such a level of escalation, and contributes to SWAT team deployments that never go reported, in order to retain the equipment.
Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson has proposed legislation aimed at demilitarizing domestic police forces called the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act.
“Our main streets should be a place for business, families, and relaxation, not tanks and M16s,” the Democrat congressman wrote in a letter to members of Congress. “Unfortunately … our local police are quickly beginning to resemble paramilitary forces.” Johnson also notes many small town police departments get hundred-thousand-dollar gifts (items) from the program that they cannot maintain or manage. The bill does not seek to get rid of the 1033 program but would limit the types of weapons on offer and boost accountability. President Obama has ordered a review of the program.
What’s happening locally: an analysis
Of the 26 counties in Disclosure’s coverage area in Southern Illinois, only four counties currently have not participated in the program. Those are Richland, Wabash, Cumberland and Jasper counties, according to the Law Enforcement Support Office of the Defense Logistics Agency, which shows armaments and equipment obtained by local law enforcement officials from the U.S. Military and Department of Homeland Security. This means 85 percent of counties in the coverage area either do, or have, taken equipment from the program for their local police departments.
To date, close to $9 million ($8,991,183.54) in equipment has been allocated to the 26 counties Disclosure covers. Four counties in particular received equipment totaling over $1 million: White with $1,286,898; Pulaski with $1,452,098.04; Williamson with $1,740,107.37; and Hardin with $1,899,106.44. A total of 320 guns were allocated to various police departments in the area: 130 M16 rifles, 61 M14 rifles, 7 riot shotguns, 114 .45 cal. pistols and 8 .38 cal. pistols.
Williamson County procured a complete gym out of the program, this valued at over $40,000, which included treadmills, a weight bench, a stationary bike, arm curling and rowing machines. How exactly a gym directly aids police to fight the war on drugs and terrorists is beyond most, but it’s free, right? Police officers should be in shape to best do their job, correct?
Not really
It’s not really free. The 1033 program that gives them all these war machines and complete gyms for their rec rooms costs taxpayers over $5 billion. Since its passage, more than $5.1 billion worth of military surplus property has been transferred to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, according to the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) that oversees the program. So the question might be posed: Why do we have $5.1 billion in excess equipment to begin with? That answer is elusive.
One of the main complaints of the program is accountability. Oversight ends in knowing only what equipment went where at the county level. It’s unclear if the gym equipment went to Williamson County Sheriff’s Department or to the Marion, Illinois Police Department or any of the law enforcement agencies operating in Williamson County. Why is it unclear? Homeland Security. DLA claims “knowing exactly what equipment went to what county agencies would undermine security.”
“Providing that information would be providing a lot of information to people who would use it to the detriment of our law enforcement professionals and potentially the public,” Pam Walker, spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, said recently when the question was posed to her in her state. “Simply put, it would be like providing criminals a blueprint on how to harm law enforcement or get around their security tactics when trying to prevent crime and/or a serious event.”
The fact that this statement makes no sense in light of the police possessing tanks and machine guns was apparently lost on Ms. Walker.
High crime? Terrorists?
Doesn’t matter
High crime rates and large population areas appear to have no factor as to how much equipment gets allocated thru the program. Neither is more equipment being sent to the U.S. borders or coasts where terrorist or drug trafficking is more likely to occur.
Brookfield Zoo, located in the suburbs of Chicago, obtained M-16 and M-14 combat rifles from the program. A Brookfield spokesperson would not say how many guns they got, but said zoo police are thankful that they are “better able to protect the public, the animals and save money.”
Champaign-Urbana and Williamson County both received MRAPs, or mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles. Designed to withstand bullets, grenades and roadside bombs on the front lines of war, more than 600 of them have been sent to local law enforcement agencies in almost every state in the U.S., mostly within the past year.
Both Champaign-Urbana’s and Williamson County’s “free” MRAPs are valued by the military at $733,000 each. That sounds pretty good so far…until the use and maintenance are factored in. It gets approximately three miles per gallon (at today’s gas rates, that’s close to $25 to go down the store and back) and weighs 49,600 pounds (16.5 times more than an average car), prompting the department to have to get a special permit for being overweight.
Champaign-Urbana’s delivery costs of the vehicle exceeded $5,000. The department then added an additional $2,000 to the total cost for more seats, plus another $5,000 for a white paint job to “calm the public’s fears” and to make the vehicle cooler for when snipers lay on top.
Now their “free” assault vehicle cost taxpayers an additional $12,000 and growing.
And how much are spare parts for an MRAP? Those aren’t something you can just pick up at your local auto parts store, after all.
‘Lost’ their gear? Yeah, right
An independent investigation by Fusion News in late August has found that close to 200 state and local police departments across the United States have been suspended for losing military-level equipment transferred to them by the Pentagon. Yes, you read that right. The same people in charge to protect you from terrorists and keeping you safe have no idea where those military weapons have gone. The report uncovered a routine pattern of lost dangerous weaponry including M14 and M16 assault rifles, .45-caliber pistols, shotguns, and even assault vehicles across the U.S. The investigation has found that police departments in Arizona, California, Mississippi, Missouri, Georgia, and others have lost or cannot account for various equipment. So far, 184 state and local departments have reportedly been suspended in a program that involves the participation of more than 8,000 agencies.
According to Tim Lynch, director of the CATO Institute’s project on criminal justice, “We don’t know where these weapons are going, whether they are really lost, or whether there is corruption involved.” Lynch expressed concern that there is a real possibility that those missing weapons are actually being sold on the black market.
How ‘dangerous’ is the job?
Supporters of this program will expound the very valid argument that a police officer’s jobs is dangerous. Officers need to be ready to defend the citizenry against whatever possible criminal or terrorist attacks might occur, to keep the peace, law and order.
But is that really true? No doubt being a police officer seems riskier, but how does it compare, and what do the numbers actually show?
What are the odds of a police officer being murdered in the US? Not particularly high. In 2009, 127 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty in the United States, but only 57 were murdered. The remainder died in vehicle and aircraft accidents, of heart attacks or job-related illnesses, or by other non-criminal means. In fact, police don’t even make the top of the list of most dangerous jobs in this country. Despite outnumbering roofers at 8:1, according to Time magazine, a person is more likely to die as a roofer than while serving in the line of duty as a police officer in this country.
Compare that to at least 155 innocent bystanders killed by police officers in the United States in 2011. That means that a citizen was more than 8 times more likely to be killed by a law enforcement officer than by a terrorist. That number has since risen to 9 times more likely to being killed by law enforcement in 2014.
Why is that?
Who do you call when the cops are the one lying in wait?
Calling the police is now a risky thing to do. Often it is the person who calls for help or some innocent bystander who ends up brutalized or murdered by the police. For example, on September 15, 2013, CNN reported a case of a young man who wrecked his car and went to a nearby house for help. The woman called police. When the police arrived, the young man ran up to them, and the police shot him dead.
Or on January 5, 2011, when the Monterey County Sheriff’s SWAT team drove an armored Lenco Bearcat into a yard and threw a flashbang grenade into the living room, catching the house on fire and killing an innocent man inside, while serving a search warrant on someone that wasn’t even at the residence.
Or in July 2004, when DEA agents stormed the temp agency office owned by Evansville, Indiana, man Charles Hall. He was handcuffed and arrested in front of his employees and taken to the county courthouse. Police dropped the charges when they realized they’d mistaken Hall for a drug suspect with the same name. Despite admitting their mistake, Hall was still included in a list of arrested suspects the DEA sends to the media. It was the second time in a year that Hall was wrongly arrested.
On July 12, 2004, a SWAT team in Venice, Illinois raided a suspected crack house by breaking in through a window and busting down the back door with a battering ram. Not only did they raid the wrong address, they end up raiding the home of Tyrone Echols, the town’s mayor.
“To tell the truth, I don’t remember what they said because I was furious,” Echols told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “If I’d been here and heard that going on, I probably would have taken my pistol and shot through the door. I’d probably be dead. And some of the officers would probably be dead, too.”
What is the justification for this?
So, if that military equipment is not going to help defend our borders and if arming our local police like they are in a war zone is making it more deadly for average citizens, what is the justification to militarize our police again?
The DoD’s 1033 Program requires police to use the military gear within one year of receiving it or to return it. This provision encourages law enforcement to routinely overreact in force as compared to how it previously responded to situations before the program. As noted in Ferguson, Missouri, every department and every procured weapon from vehicles to grenade launchers to guns HAD to be used just so that department could justify keeping their free toys.
The U.S. government has long been war-gaming large-scale economic collapse scenarios and civil unrest simulations, including this year’s 8th annual Urban Shield SWAT training in Oakland, California, that was in full swing as production of this paper was underway. The event is the showcase for law enforcement agencies from around the world. Urban Shield programs officer James Baker says techniques that are developed and trained at Urban Shield are later used at events like the Ferguson lock-downs.
Since 2006, through the 1033 program, the Pentagon has also distributed:
79,288 assault rifles
205 grenade launchers
11,959 bayonets
3,972 combat knives
$124 million worth of night-vision equipment, including night-vision sniper scopes
479 bomb detonator robots
50 airplanes, including 27 cargo transport airplanes
422 helicopters
More than $3.6 million worth of camouflage gear and other “deception equipment.”
Decimating our rights
Peaceable protestors have the right to assemble under the First Amendment. Journalists have the right to cover those protests under that same amendment. The American citizen has the right to be secure in his home, and has the right to move about the country unmolested so long as they are not violating the law.
All of this—ALL of it—is threatened when the police, taxpayer-supported entities who are now being trained to violate these rights with impunity, are allowed and encouraged to use government-provided (also taxpayer-supported) weaponry to continue the assault on our civil rights.
These weapons are not being used to defend our borders against illegal immigrants entering the country; they are not being used to ward off any terrorists that might slide in with the illegals who violate the laws with complete disregard to legal citizens, who are punished if they don’t abide by them.
We the people have met the enemy. It is us, in the eyes of the new law enforcement regime.
The police state is here, and is being armed, unchecked, at our expense. The ways we can fight back now are limited, and include petitioning our legislators and local leaders to never join up with these programs or, if they’re in it, to get out, and return the hardware and weaponry that could easily be used against us.
If that’s not accomplished, and soon, the only way we can fight back is TO fight. And by then, all other options will be too little, too late.