The White House announced Monday it will no longer allow the federal government to provide certain military-style equipment to local police departments.
Effective immediately, local law enforcement will be banned from acquiring military equipment from federal agencies or with federal funds. Banned equipment includes armor vehicles that run on a tracked system rather than wheels, grenade launchers, weaponized aircraft, bayonets, ammunition of .50-caliber or higher and some variations of camouflage uniforms, according to The Hill.
The government is also looking into how it can recall equipment that has already been issued to local departments, reports The Associated Press.
The ban comes as part of an effort to ease tensions between law enforcement and minority communities, who violently clashed with local police donned with military-style equipment following the deaths of several black men at the hands of law enforcement in Ferguson, Mo., and Baltimore.
The actions were recommended in a new report produced by a cabinet working group created by President Obama via executive order earlier this year. The group's report cites "substantial risk of misusing or overusing these items" which "could significantly undermine community trust."
Other equipment supplied by the federal government, such as Humvees, drones, helicopters, specialized firearms, explosives and riot gear, will be more tightly regulated.
Beginning in October, police departments will have to first get approval from their city council, mayor or other local governing body to obtain the gear. Departments will also be required to provide a "clear and persuasive argument" as to why it's needed, and will need to provide additional training in "community policing, constitutional policing and community input." Police will also have to provide data on how the equipment is used, according to AP.
"The idea is to make sure that we strike a balance in providing the equipment, which is appropriate and useful and important for local law enforcement agencies to keep the community safe, while at the same time putting standards in place so that there's a clear reason for the transfer of that equipment, that there's clear training and safety procedures in place," White House Director of Domestic Policy Cecilia Muñoz said in a Sunday call with reporters, according to The Huffington Post.
President Obama will also announce $163 million in new Justice Department grants to promote "community policing" practices and incentivize local departments to adopt the report's recommendations.
Since the Pentagon's 1033 program began in the late 1990s, which allows surplus military equipment to be given to local police departments, more than $4 billion worth of gear has been transferred. Nearly 150 departments have been suspended in the past six years for losing track of equipments, according to ABC News.
