A group of 10 senators – nine Democrats and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) – wrote a letter to President Joe Biden this week, urging him to use executive action to demilitarize the nation’s police forces and reform Department of Defense programs that transfer or sell military equipment to them.
“We urge you to prioritize the demilitarization of law enforcement by limiting the transfer or purchase of certain military equipment for federal, state, tribal, territorial, and local law enforcement agencies,” the senators wrote. “This should include reforms to the Department of Defense’s (DoD) program to transfer surplus military equipment to law enforcement agencies—known as the ‘1033 program’—as well as DoD’s program to allow law enforcement agencies to purchase military equipment—known as the ‘1122 program.’ Militarized law enforcement increases the prevalence of police violence without making our communities safer. Now is the moment to make these necessary reforms.”
In their letter, the lawmakers also cited statistics from the peer-reviewed journal Research & Politis, demonstrating that even as police militarization increases, rates of violent crime do not fall – nor do the number of officers assaulted or killed. In that report, the authors concluded that military equipment from the 1033 program causes a sort of slippery slope, requiring police to learn and use more martial language, organize more elite units, and become more willing to engage in high-risk situations and military training. All contribute to police turning more toward soldiers.
What has increased are officer-involved shootings and civilian deaths, running contrary to their foundational concept of protecting and serving, according to the senators. A remedy, they proposed, is an outright prohibition on the transfer or sale of certain military equipment and the creation of transparency measures for military equipment programs.
Bayonets, grenades, weaponized track combat vehicles, and weaponized drones are prohibited from sale or transfer to police departments. The equipment agencies receive must – under federal law – be paired with annual training on respecting citizen rights and force reduction.
Other signatories of the letter included U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tina Smith (D-MN), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Bob Casey (D-PA).