| The White House estimates that federal programs directly or indirectly provided $18 billion in military equipment to state and local law enforcement agencies between 2009 and 2014, much of it with little oversight on who was receiving the gear or follow-up on how it was being used. This trend of police militarization has led to aggressive tactics, over-enforcement, and a rejection of de-escalation tactics that are critical to community policing.
In the aftermath of the public outcry over local police using tank-like vehicles and assault rifles to quell protests in Ferguson, Missouri following the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer in 2014, the Obama administration placed a modest ban on the transfer of some military-grade equipment from the Pentagon to law enforcement. However, many advocates have argued that little has changed. In September, The Constitution Project Committee on Policing Reforms, a bipartisan group of former military and law enforcement officers and criminal justice system experts, released a comprehensive report calling on the Obama administration to further tighten restrictions on the transfer of military equipment to state and local police departments and to require greater transparency and accountability of such programs.
Join a panel of experts November 17, 2016 to discuss the impact of the Obama administration’s changes to federal military acquisition programs and what immediate and long-term steps the next administration, states, and Congress can take to curb the militarization of law enforcement and to improve the relationship between police and communities.
WHEN:
Thursday, November 17, Noon to 2:00 pm
A light lunch will be served.
The event is free to the public, but space is limited. Register early!
WHO:
- Cheye M. Calvo, Committee on Policing Reforms; former Mayor, Berwyn Springs, MD
- Sakira Cook, Counsel, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
- Tracey Trautman, Deputy Director for the Programs Office, Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice
Additional panelists to be announced.
WHERE:
Reed Smith Washington Offices
1301 K Street, N.W.
Suite 1000 – East Tower
Washington, D.C. 20005
To register for this event, please RSVP here.
CONTACT:
David Janovsky, Program Assistant, The Constitution Project
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