http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014...ough-pentagon/
WASHINGTON – From California to Connecticut and several states in between, local police departments have been steadily arming themselves over the years with billions of dollars' worth of military-grade equipment -- including grenade launchers, helicopters and machine guns.
The materiel comes from a U.S. military program that, until this week, received little public attention. But after St. Louis police used heavy-duty equipment in putting down riots and protests following the shooting death of an unarmed teen, new questions have been raised about where this gear is coming from.
The flood of equipment being funneled from the Department of Defense to local police departments traces back to a program created in the 1990s. The excess property program, known as 1033, was initially created to help state and local authorities in the war against drugs, and help unused military equipment find a home -- as opposed to being needlessly destroyed.
But the flow of equipment from the military to towns across America has spiked since the 9/11 attacks. And it's become a thorny topic among critics who say local authorities shouldn’t be outfitted with heavy machinery originally bought by the government to fight actual wars and track terrorists overseas.
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