More than $600,000 spent on police gear for pipeline protest

Source: Associated Press


Blake Nicholson, Associated Press
 Updated 2:01 pm, Saturday, December 16, 2017

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota law enforcement purchased more than $600,000 worth of body armor, tactical equipment and crowd control devices during the height of protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline, state invoices show.

The purchases, tallied by The Associated Press from invoices obtained through a public records request, included pepper spray, flash-bang and smoke grenades, riot helmets, gas masks, night-vision goggles, more than 2,000 rounds of non-lethal ammunition and more.
 
The equipment ultimately made up a small share of the $35 million in policing costs associated with the pipeline, and state officials defend the purchases as reasonable for a protest that attracted thousands of "water protectors" to southern North Dakota who skirmished — sometimes violently — with law enforcement.
 
"There was a legitimate, deliberate plan that was put together that said, 'OK, how can we do this and do it safe for folks on both sides?'" state Homeland Security Director Greg Wilz said. "At the end of the day we were successful."

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/More-than-600-000-spent-on-police-gear-for-12435677.php