© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
KCUR is broadcasting from our auxiliary tower, limiting the reach of our broadcast signal. Streaming is still available online at KCUR.org and on smart devices.

Sheriff Defends Use Of Military Equipment

The images of combat vehicles rolling in to confront demonstrators in Ferguson, Missouri, after the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, provoked national debate over police departments receiving military equipment.

Since 2006, the Pentagon’s Excess Property Program has supplied police departments with almost 80,000 assault rifles, more than 600 armored vehicles, and hundreds of millions of dollars-worth of other equipment.

Missouri’s Senator Claire McCaskill weighed in on the practice during a Homeland Security Committee hearing this week, calling the militarization of police forces “out of control” and citing police departments in Michigan and Oklahoma.

Those police have since defended their possession of military equipment.

R.B. Hauf, sheriff of Payne County, Oklahoma tells Here & Now‘s Robin Young how this equipment helps his police force maintain security in dire situations.

Guest

  • R.B. Hauf, sheriff of Payne County, Oklahoma.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

KCUR serves the Kansas City region with breaking news and award-winning podcasts.
Your donation helps keep nonprofit journalism free and available for everyone.