http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...olice-tanks-taken-florida-20151015-story.html
A White House ban on military-style equipment is forcing 11 Florida law-enforcement agencies — including sheriff's offices in Seminole, Osceola, Volusia and Polk — to return all tanks they received years ago after the items were declared surplus equipment by the federal government.
The take-back of the cannonless tanks follows an executive order earlier this year by President Barack Obama.
That came after riots in Ferguson, Mo., and later in Baltimore drew out police officers in full riot gear with high-powered rifles and armored vehicles — making some city streets appear more like battlefields.
And heightening fears about the militarization of police.
The order put an emphasis on the need to better regulate the type of equipment law-enforcement agencies receive from the Department of Defense's 1033 program, which gives equipment no longer used by the military to local law enforcers.
That's how six agencies in Central Florida got their vehicles, which don't have cannons and do not fire shells.
For some, such as the Lakeland Police Department, losing the vehicle isn't a huge loss, Sgt. Gary Gross said. The department's tracked vehicle was a backup to a newer, wheeled armored vehicle.
Armored vehicles with wheels are allowed under the ban and are far more common than the recalled tanks with tracks.
Lakeland's tank was costly to maintain and cumbersome to transport, Gross said, as it can't travel on roads without damaging the pavement.
"It's not a big hit for us," he said.
But for others, such as Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson, who must also give up his agency's tracked vehicle, said the ban could be detrimental – and even deadly.
"For some agencies, this is all they can afford," Johnson said, "leaving their people on potential suicide missions."
Volusia's tracked vehicle can go through terrain that others with wheels can't, he said.
The department doesn't use it every day, but it has taken bullets for deputies, and the ban is "taking a valuable piece of equipment out of our fleet," Johnson said.
"People will die because of this decision," he said.
In all, 126 tracked vehicles have been recalled from agencies across the country, according to the Department of Defense.
A White House ban on military-style equipment is forcing 11 Florida law-enforcement agencies — including sheriff's offices in Seminole, Osceola, Volusia and Polk — to return all tanks they received years ago after the items were declared surplus equipment by the federal government.
The take-back of the cannonless tanks follows an executive order earlier this year by President Barack Obama.
That came after riots in Ferguson, Mo., and later in Baltimore drew out police officers in full riot gear with high-powered rifles and armored vehicles — making some city streets appear more like battlefields.
And heightening fears about the militarization of police.
The order put an emphasis on the need to better regulate the type of equipment law-enforcement agencies receive from the Department of Defense's 1033 program, which gives equipment no longer used by the military to local law enforcers.
That's how six agencies in Central Florida got their vehicles, which don't have cannons and do not fire shells.
For some, such as the Lakeland Police Department, losing the vehicle isn't a huge loss, Sgt. Gary Gross said. The department's tracked vehicle was a backup to a newer, wheeled armored vehicle.
Armored vehicles with wheels are allowed under the ban and are far more common than the recalled tanks with tracks.
Lakeland's tank was costly to maintain and cumbersome to transport, Gross said, as it can't travel on roads without damaging the pavement.
"It's not a big hit for us," he said.
But for others, such as Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson, who must also give up his agency's tracked vehicle, said the ban could be detrimental – and even deadly.
"For some agencies, this is all they can afford," Johnson said, "leaving their people on potential suicide missions."
Volusia's tracked vehicle can go through terrain that others with wheels can't, he said.
The department doesn't use it every day, but it has taken bullets for deputies, and the ban is "taking a valuable piece of equipment out of our fleet," Johnson said.
"People will die because of this decision," he said.
In all, 126 tracked vehicles have been recalled from agencies across the country, according to the Department of Defense.
