NYTimes | While
questioning by the committee was largely critical, it is not clear
whether there is wide support in Congress for changing the programs.
President Obama has ordered a governmentwide review of the policies, but
that review is in its nascent stages and the president did not publicly
set a deadline for completing it.
One
of the policies under review is a Pentagon program that transfers
surplus military equipment to the local police. Though it played a
relatively minor role in outfitting police officers in Ferguson, the
program has come under heavy scrutiny since the protests there.
Figures
released Tuesday by Congress showed that some police departments with
fewer than 10 full-time officers had received large mine-resistant
trucks designed to withstand roadside bombs in Iraq. Many police
departments received enough automatic rifles, such as M-16s, to give
several to each officer.
“Bayonets
are available under the program,” said Alan F. Estevez, the principal
deputy undersecretary for acquisition for the Defense Department. “I
can’t answer what a local police force would need a bayonet for.”
“I can give you the answer,” replied Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky. “None.”
Police
chiefs know changes will be made to the federal programs, whether from
Congress or the administration, according to Jim Bueermann, the
president of the Police Foundation,
a research group in Washington, who testified Tuesday. He recommended
that, before receiving equipment, police departments be required to
prove that they informed the public, trained their officers and set
policies for using the gear.
Mr.
Kamoie, from Homeland Security, noted that his agency’s grants did not
pay for weapons. He said infrared, helicopter-mounted surveillance gear
bought with federal grants was instrumental in locating Dzhokhar
Tsarnaev, a suspect in the Boston bombing.
Mr. Coburn corrected him. Mr. Tsarnaev was discovered not by the police but by a Watertown, Mass., resident named Dave Henneberry
who — once the police allowed people to leave their homes — walked
outside and noticed a pool of blood in his boat parked in his backyard.
Mr. Coburn presented an article from The Boston Globe recounting the
events.
Mr.
Kamoie seemed surprised. He said his colleagues had credited the
helicopter camera. “I look forward to reading that article,” he said.
2 comments:
Translation - Saletin, on second thought, wanted to keep his job - the editors, fielding a ton of liberal PC hate mail, had kicked his ass and put him on probation.
For reference, here's what happened to James Watson, the discoverer of DNA, when he alluded to the Truth -- (from Wiki) "In October 2007, Watson was suspended following criticism of views on race and intelligence attributed to him, and a week later, on the 25th, he retired at the age of 79 from CSHL from what the lab called 'nearly 40 years of distinguished service'. In a statement, Watson attributed his retirement to his age, and circumstances that he could never have anticipated or desired...." http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/fury-at-dna-pioneers-theory-africans-are-less-intelligent-than-westerners-394898.html
Rosalind Franklin discovered DNA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_Franklin - Watson was shown her data without her knowledge or approval, making him a plagiarist and a thief. No surprises there..., what else would expect of such a one?
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