The Trump administration is set to restart a program that allows the flow of certain types of surplus military equipment and weapons to state and local law enforcement.
The so-called militarization of police, which is made possible by the Department of Defense”s 1033 program, was scaled back by former President Barack Obama in 2015 after the Ferguson, Mo., riots in August 2014 became a major controversy.
The Obama order still allowed the transfer of equipment such as tactical vehicles, non-lethal weapon launchers and riot gear if the state and local police departments were able to prove a need. But armored vehicles, bayonets, grenade launchers and large-caliber weapons and ammunition were barred from transfer.