A local Alabama police department could soon get back life-saving equipment that had been removed by the Obama Administration, according to new reports.
On Monday, the Associated Press announced that president-elect Donald Trump could make certain defense tools and military-grade weaponry- including surplus military grenade launchers, bayonets, tracked armored vehicles and high-powered firearms and ammunition- available to local law enforcement. It would be a return to a pre-2015 policy, before President Obama issued an executive order restricting local access to such gear.
Trump told the Fraternal Order of Police that he would prioritize cancelling Obama’s order.
“The 1033 program is an excellent program that enhances community safety. I will rescind the current executive order,” he wrote in September.
In Alabama, the Calhoun County Sheriff’s office was heavily affected by the President’s order. Now, if the executive mandate is indeed repealed, they could get back two tracked armored vehicles.
The county’s two armored vehicles were first obtained after three local police officers were shot by a mentally ill individual in 2001. They were used to search a wooded area where a police shooting suspect was believed to be hiding out in 2011 and later utilized as transportation during ice storms.
In November of 2015, Senator Richard Shelby was among the lawmakers on Capitol Hill calling for local police to get back the defense gear they need. At the time, he criticized Obama for making critical decisions without considering the safety needs of law enforcement or their community.
“Time and time again, President Obama abuses the authority of his office by making unilateral decisions through executive fiat,” he said. “From his attempts to grant executive amnesty to illegal immigrants and his plans to allow Syrian refugees to resettle in the United States, to his decision to take away vehicles from local law enforcement in Calhoun County, it is clear that this president is more interested in scoring political points than ensuring the safety of our citizens.”
