Military vehicles, weapons and other equipment are being reclaimed from local police forces in the U.S. under the Obama administration's post-Ferguson order, and sheriffs and lawmakers are not happy, saying these could put officers' lives in danger.
Republican Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama told Fox News, "These things are useful tools and the president taking them away will put more officers in jeopardy and at risk of harm or even death. I don't know how he can sleep at night knowing his actions will have those repercussions."
Rogers sent a letter to President Obama last week after learning that the Calhoun County Sheriff's office will lose two armoured vehicles known as M113s.
Under the President's executive order, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) was tasked to reclaim some surplus military equipment earlier transferred to local law enforcement units including armoured vehicles.
"Your action will do nothing but make our law enforcement officials more vulnerable during the performance of their duties at a time when violent crime and terrorism present a clear threat to public safety," Rogers told President Obama in the letter.
President Obama issued the order transferring surplus military equipment to certain local police units in January after the 2014 riots in Ferguson, Missouri. This is allowed under the 1033 Program, which was created by the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 1997 to transfer excess military equipment to civilian law enforcement agencies.
A working group was formed composed of the Defense, Homeland Security and Justice Departments to make a list of items that would be controlled or prohibited from being acquired under the 1033 program.
"We've seen how militarised gear can sometimes give people a 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. It can alienate and intimidate local residents, and send the wrong message. So we're going to prohibit some equipment made for the battlefield that is not appropriate for local police departments," Obama said last May.
Prohibited items are armoured tracked vehicles, weaponised aircraft and vehicles, .50-caliber firearms and ammo, bayonets, and camouflage.
The government started reclaiming the items last Oct. 1 and local police forces have until April 1, 2016 to return them, a representative from the U.S. Military's Defense Logistics Agency told Fox News.
Sheriffs are opposed to the move.
Sheriff Mike Bouchard of Oakland County, Michigan cited one situation where they used an armoured vehicle to evacuate residents against an active shooter who was hiding in a house.
"There's no question that saved lives," Bouchard. "We have letters from people we evacuated saying 'we don't know what you could have done to save us without that armoured vehicle.'"
The vehicles are not actually banned for police use. The ban applies only to such vehicles transferred to local police units under the 1033 program.
"Our agency is not big, we have a total of 130 employees, and we don't have quarter-of-a-million-dollar budget to buy one," said Sheriff Larry Amerson of Calhoun County, Alabama. "The 1033 program gave us the opportunity to get that for free, which was in my view a no brainer."
