Rep. Johnson applauds administration’s de-militarization review, encourages urgent legislative action

In the wake of Ferguson, President Obama’s action on Strengthening Community Policing & Federal Support for Local Law Enforcement Equipment Acquisition mirrors Rep. Johnson’s Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As President Obama today announced specific recommendations on how to ensure the appropriate use of federal programs to maximize the safety and security of police officers and the communities they serve, Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) released the following statement:

“I applaud President Obama for his bold action. I’m going to continue fighting to see these and other ideas passed into law and made permanent. And as one of the leading voices in Congress against police militarization, I’m pleased to see that many of the recommendations in The Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act of 2014 – H.R. 5478 – a bill introduced by Rep. Labrador and I, are included in the President’s review. I’m also sending a letter to the Department of Justice today to discuss the role the DOJ plays in the training, monitoring, and controlling SWAT officers and the use of militarized equipment by local law enforcement and SWAT officers. I appreciate the President’s leadership on this issue. As the review process unfolds, we must remember that military-style training on military-style equipment is the opposite of what should be happening on our main streets.”

Specifically, H.R. 5478 includes the following provisions also recommended by the President today:

-- Develop a list of property allowable for acquisition by Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs).
-- Develop a database that includes information about controlled equipment purchased or acquired through federal programs, including the Pentagon’s 1033 Program.

H.R. 5478 would enact additional protections consistent with the President’s recommendations, including:

-- Require public posting of all requests for equipment transfer through the 1033 program, allowing for local civilian (non-police) review of LEAs to requests for equipment.
-- Requires requesting LEA’s to certify that they have the training necessary to use equipment transferred under the 1033 program.

Lastly, H.R. 5478 would address two key points that were unfortunately missing from the President’s recommendations: 1) many of these military-grade weapons should not be available to law enforcement to begin with and 2) both LEAs and DOD have failed to solve the problem of lost and missing inventory, and this bill would begin reining in these kinds of abuses of the program.

“The President’s recommendations and our bill, H.R. 5748 Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act of 2014, share many of the same goals,” said Johnson. “I encourage the public to contact their congressperson and ask them to sign on to the legislation.”

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