![]() Surplus is posted online like a shopping list when no longer needed by the military. ![]() The surplus items cost the agencies less than if they bought similar equipment at retail prices. Many of the items received by BCSO include mechanical parts used by the aviation unit. Among those are two grenade launchers, which have been modified to fire "less-lethal" ammunition, such as beanbags or rubber rounds, a spokeswoman said. The largest recipient of surplus is the county's largest law enforcement department, the sheriff's office, which has about 960 items, records show. "It's not a very good feeling to have a guy with an automatic rifle who's killed a bunch of people and you've got a pistol," he said. He mentioned a mass shooting in Palm Bay in 1987. John Coppola, who oversees most of the surplus buying for the agency. "You don't need a big gun until you need a big gun," said Brevard County Sheriff's Lt. Officials cite volatile situations that can escalate rapidly as the reason for keeping the equipment easily accessible. Some sheriff's deputies and Melbourne police officers, for example, carry the military's surplus weapons on routine patrol. In Brevard County, high-powered rifles are not limited to SWAT officers, who have additional tactical training. That's one assault rifle for every three officers in the county. Records show there are about 400 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm assault rifles in use by six local agencies. Rifles make up the largest single group of military machinery here and a third of all surplus items. He added that West Melbourne's MRAP can be used by other local agencies. Mark Thompson said, citing mass shootings around the country. "All those armored vehicles have been used to rescue kids in schools and people in shopping malls," West Melbourne Police Lt. Why do they need a vehicle designed to withstand bomb blasts? A city of about 19,000 residents, West Melbourne's crime rate is about average in the county. The MRAP, a desert-tan rig built for war in the Middle East, belongs to West Melbourne Police Department. More than 22,300 items made their way to Florida, where they are split between local and federal agencies.Ī FLORIDA TODAY investigation of state and federal databases found that about half of Brevard County's police agencies use military surplus, items that range from the small, such as boots and ball bearings and tools, to the hulking, like forklifts, a Vietnam-era helicopter and armored SWAT carriers.īrevard has the second-largest number of assault rifles of all Florida counties, according to federal data, and is home to one of 44 MRAPs, or mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles in the Sunshine State. Then there was protest in the streets and the strong police response that drew national criticism.Īccording to data released by the federal government, there are about 2.42 million military surplus items worth $1.32 billion being used by police nationwide. A white police officer there shot and killed an unarmed black teenager on Aug. That's what some say is happening in Ferguson. In a June report titled "War Comes Home," the ACLU said that use of such "hyper-aggressive tools" escalates risk of needless violence, destroys property and undermines individual liberties. But the militarization of police - the decades-old practice of giving items designed for combat to community police forces - has become a controversial issue, drawing attention from the American Civil Liberties Union even before the flood of images of heavily armed police in riot gear riding armored vehicles through the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, to quell protests. Police say these items are put to use infrequently but can be essential to keeping officers and the public safe. They are just some of the more than 1,100 pieces of military surplus equipment being used by eight law enforcement agencies here. Those devices, designed for war zones, are no longer needed by the military and are being rolled out on the streets of Brevard County. A three-year-old armored vehicle built to withstand blasts from roadside bombs in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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