Law enforcement

Military equipment distributed to law enforcement agencies

For decades, local law enforcement agencies have requested surplus miliary equipment from the U.S. government to use in their efforts to fight crime and protect the public.

The federal program made headlines three years ago when police in Ferguson, Mo. deployed armored vehicles and high-caliber weapons to quell protests over the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white officer.

Responding to the outcry, President Barack Obama in 2015 restricted some items, including re-purposed grenade launchers and other heavy-duty equipment, stressing that such items "can alienate and intimidate local residents and send the wrong message."

The Trump Administration rescinded those limitations in late August, saying they went too far.

Amid the national dabate over police use of military equipment, many law enforcement agencies in San Diego County returned hardware — including a mine-resistant vehicle acquired by the San Diego Unified School District — but the requests for military surplus equipment have continued, some as recently as May.