Archive

College Town Police Get Military Tank

UNWELCOME

But it's only 'to perform rescues.'

A $700,000 armored car given to police in a modest California college town? Don’t worry, it’s only meant “to perform rescues of victims and potential victims during active shooter incidents,” according to Davis, Calif. police chief Landy Black. The city’s police department already has a stash of surplus military equipment, including rifles, body armor and riot helmets, along with the MRAP (“mine-resistant, ambush-protected” motorized tank). The City Council, however, directed Landy to get rid of the thing, after members of the community spoke out against having it during the days after police officers used similar equipment on protesters in Ferguson, Missouri. “This thing has a turret—it’s the kind of thing that is used in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Davis mayor Dan Wolk told the New York Times. “Our community is the kind of community that is not going to take well to having this kind of vehicle. We are not a crime-ridden city.” California has one of the highest concentrations of military equipment in the country.

Read it at New York Times