Focus on the topic not the photo. First off it's WVPATX's topic but this is what is being discussed....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/24/states-police-militarization_n_6932576.html
“You get these pictures that just shock the conscience,” said
Republican state Sen. Branden Petersen of Minnesota, referring to news footage of heavily armed police patrolling streets or carrying out sting operations. His
bill would bar law enforcement in the state from accepting gear that’s “designed to primarily have a military purpose or offensive capability.”
But Petersen and those backing similar efforts in other states — they’ve come up in California, Connecticut, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont — face an uphill climb, partly because of the way law enforcement acquires the gear.
The equipment flows through a Pentagon surplus operation known as the
1033 Program, which makes available gear that the military no longer wants. Local agencies — including state and local police, and others such as natural resources departments — make requests through a designated state coordinator, who with Defense Department officials, has final say. There’s no federal requirement for state or local lawmaker approval or oversight, and any gear distributed is free of charge. About $5.4 billion worth has been distributed since the program began in 1997.
The program is a key source of tactical equipment, along with clothing (everything from parkas to mittens), office supplies, exercise equipment and appliances. Police say it’s invaluable in providing supplies they cannot afford and gear that can save officers’ lives.
But others call it a shadowy program that lacks oversight and lets police request anything they want, regardless of whether they need it. Some say it even tramples the 1878
Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the U.S. military from operating on American soil.
As Petersen put it: “The 1033 Program is a workaround.”