POLICE/TRUMP EXEC ORDERS: ” ‘Restoring State, Tribal, and Local Law Enforcement’s Access to Life-Saving Equipment and Resources’
The order revokes Obama-era limits on the repurposing of military equipment for law enforcement use.
On January 16, 2015, the former president issued an Executive Order seeking to limit police access to repurposed military gear. The order came in the wake of national criticism surrounding the police crackdown on protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, which included armored vehicles, tear gas, and heavily armed riot police in camouflage. Protesters were responding to the killing of Michael Brown, an 18-year old black man shot by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
Obama later approved recommendations that banned the transfer of certain equipment — like tracked armored vehicles and grenade launchers — to police forces completely, and mandated strict new guidelines for departments that acquired other military-issue devices.
The executive order nullifies those restrictions. On the day of the signing, Jeff Sessions told a Fraternal Order of Police conference in Nashville that the Executive Order would ‘send a strong message that we will not allow criminal activity, violence and lawlessness to become the new normal.’ “
-Avalon Zoppo, Amanda Proenca Santos, and Jackson Hudgins, “Here’s the Full List of Donald Trump’s Executive Orders,” NBC News, Oct 17, 2017 11:58am