In the three months following the Ferguson, Mo., riots, the U.S. government significantly increased the number of military-style assault rifles it sent to local law enforcement agencies, despite promises of reform from the White House.
An analysis by The Washington Times found that in the three months following the riots, the Pentagon shipped 3,879 rifles to various law enforcement agencies - "an astronomical increase over the dozen rifles shipped during the same three-month period in 2013."
While the program remains popular with law enforcement, the Pentagon project known as the 1033 program did however reduce the number of armored vehicles sent out, which were particularly criticized following the Ferguson riots. Only 11 mine-resistant vehicles were sent between Aug. 15 and Nov. 14, compared to 180 sent during the same time frame in 2013, the Times found.
"Including both lethal equipment and the more mundane items such as uniforms and office supplies that make up most of the transfers, the overall number was about the same in 2014, though the dollar value of the equipment transferred - about $157 million over the three months - was down 15 percent," the Times reported.
At the beginning of December, Obama pledged to change the 1033 program policies by making it more difficult to obtain military equipment and said he would require civilian officials to authorize equipment transfers to prevent police from acting unilaterally to obtain weapons.
"But he did not cancel the program, nor did he ban the flow of lethal weaponry, as some lawmakers on Capitol Hill have demanded," said the Times.
As national attention shifts elsewhere, bills designed to demilitarize law enforcement that were introduced in the wake of the civil unrest are likely to die once Congress convenes in January.
An amendment introduced in June by Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., which would have prohibited funds from being used to transfer certain military equipment to police departments, failed by a wide margin, receiving 62 votes in favor and 355 against.
