Why local American police have so much military gear at protests

Protests continue to take place across the country calling for an end to racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd while in police custody.

And American cops are using some heavy duty gear acquired through a federal program.

The equipment used by some local police — ranging from tear gas grenade launchers to bayonets — are part of the federal 1033 Program, which transfers surplus equipment from the armed forces to civilian law enforcement agencies.

“This is typically stuff that they weren't buying on their own — they wouldn't consider it a budget priority,” Cato Institute Senior Fellow Walter Olson told Yahoo Finance’s YFi PM (video above). But “once you've got the gear, the temptation is to use it... we have seen the results — we have seen armored vehicles... we've seen grenade launchers, helicopters that turn protests into something closer to a war zone.”

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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/police-america-military-gear-155031489.html