Congress Will Review The Transfer Of Military Weapons To Police Forces After Ferguson

In the aftermath of clashes between heavily armed police forces and protesters in Ferguson, MO, the Senate will review the nearly twenty-five year old law that promotes the transfer of surplus military goods to police forces, the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee said on Friday.

The tensions in Ferguson after the death of teenager Michael Brown at the hands of the police in a shooting that still has many questions left unresolved have been punctuated by the collision of protesters and the Ferguson police force. On Wednesday evening, the local police displayed a wide-ranging array of gear that would normally be considered outside the scope of traditional policing, including armored personnel carriers, high-powered sniper rifles, and sirens capable of emitting deafening noises. Though the Missouri Highway Patrol was brought in to takeover from the local law enforcement, APCs and tear gas were still deployed against demonstrators and looters violating the state-imposed curfew alike, and the images of full body-armor clad police facing unarmed protestors have become iconic.

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