article_snippet: And tensions are being exacerbated by the use among police departments of military weapons, and stipulations that these former war zone weapons must be used within a year of acquisition.
article_snippet: Second, we must radically rethink the trend toward the indiscriminate procurement and use of surplus military grade weaponry, which under the Department of Defense's 1033 program is flowing from battlefields to our local police forces.  
article_snippet: When the weapons of war come home from Iraq and Afghanistan to help police America's cities and towns, then you know something has gone terribly wrong with America.
article_snippet: Mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles, tanks, drones, grenades and assault weapons should not replace the community policing of our Main Streets.
article_snippet: Having military equipment on our streets does not make citizens feel safer, which is why the Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act was recently reintroduced in Congress.
article_snippet: Yet until such a bill is passed, war weapons will continue to flood our streets; Congress must act to stem this tide.
article_snippet: But it doesn't justify the 150 raids per day by special weapons and tactics units for incidents that can be as benign as a Department of Education warrant.