Fund the police? U.S. Police Have So Much Extra Gear They're Sending It to Ukraine

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.vice.com/en/article/dypkjx/us-police-donates-tactical-gear-ukraine

Police departments around the U.S. are donating tactical gear to Ukraine, whose annual defense budget is smaller than the NYPD’s.

Law enforcement agencies in several states have all announced in recent days that they’re donating dozens of pieces of body armor, such as ballistic helmets and vests. Some of the departments and their respective local partners—one of which is a top defense contractor with U.S. and Ukrainian government contracts—say the donations will be distributed to Ukrainian citizens under siege by the Russian military.

State law enforcement agencies in Colorado and Vermont both announced Wednesday that they were donating defensive equipment to Ukraine. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said the state’s policing agencies were “coordinating an effort to donate used and expired body-armor vests to military units in Ukraine,” and the Vermont State Police also encouraged members of the public to donate their own body armor as long as it’s rated Level III or higher by the Department of Justice’s research arm—capable of protecting against some rifle rounds, in other words.

The Colorado Department of Public Safety said it was donating more than 80 sets of body armor and 750 helmets, and that it was accepting donations from other law enforcement agencies in the state. “This is equipment that we are no longer able to use because it is beyond life cycle, or in some cases it may have been replaced or upgraded by some equipment that maybe better fits our needs or is safer,” Colorado DPS spokesperson Patricia Billinger told local station KARE9.

In Pennsylvania, the Falls Township Police Department, which has 53 sworn officers and is situated about 40 minutes north of Philadelphia, is sending 52 ballistic vests, including 15 “military-grade” vests capable of stopping rifle bullets, although they’re no longer under warranty, according to Falls Township police chief Nelson E. Whitney II.

*snip*

[Wingus Dingus]

1. Good.

[niyad]

2. . . .

[Thomas Hurt]

3. Cops have been collecting military surplus from the fed gov't for decades at this point.

[ck4829]

4. Well, there's one way to send some actual military hardware to Ukraine

[Phoenix61]

5. Excellent! They shouldn't have had it in the first place. nt

[aocommunalpunch]

6. Fine.

Change "Defund the Police" to "Take Away Cops' Toys".

This country is such a fucking shithole.